In recent years, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has issued guidance on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Rules and how they apply in certain situations. Even with this guidance, there is still considerable confusion around HIPAA and how the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules and the Omnibus Rule HIPAA updates apply to covered entities and their business associates.
All HIPAA covered entities and business associates must ensure they are compliant with all appropriate provisions of the HIPAA Rules and there are severe penalties for noncompliance. Over the past few years, OCR has stepped up enforcement and regularly imposes financial penalties on covered entities and business associates that are discovered not to have complied with the provisions of HIPAA.
OCR investigates breaches of protected health information, and they are now being reported at record rates. In 2010, the first full year after OCR started publishing summaries of healthcare data breaches on its website, there were 199 reported healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records. In 2020, there were 642 reported breaches… a rise of 222%. The first half of 2021 has just come to an end and there have already been 327 reported breaches this year. There is now a much greater chance of HIPAA violations being discovered. HIPAA compliance has never been more important.
HIPAA Journal regularly receives questions about HIPAA compliance and how the HIPAA Rules apply in certain situations. To help clear up confusion, HIPAA Journal has partnered with Compliancy Group, a leader in the compliance space that educates healthcare providers and their business associates and helps them become and remain HIPAA compliant.
On Thursday, July 8, 2021, you will have an opportunity to have your questions about HIPAA compliance answered in an interactive webinar.
Webinar Today: Thursday July 8, 2021: All Your HIPAA Questions Answered
| 2:00 p.m. ET | 1:00 p.m. CT | 12:00 p.m. MT |11:00 a.m. PT |
“Our goal is to help eliminate any HIPAA stress or concerns you may have. Get quick responses to your questions and gain confidence in compliance today.”
Use the form below to register for the webinar.
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