From HHS, clarification during these difficult times: HHS Secretary Waives Certain HIPAA Privacy Rule Provisions for Texas and Louisiana Hospitals; OCR Issues Bulletin for Medical Professionals Navigating HIPAA Rules in Emergency Situations In response to Hurricane Harvey, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., declared a public health emergency in…
Category: Healthcare
Aetna Accused of Outing HIV Patients in Settlement Letters
I reported on Aetna’s breach over on DataBreaches.net, but I think the lawsuit concerning it may be of more interest on this blog because of the irony: in an attempt to better protect privacy of sensitive information, using envelopes with windows exposed the very sensitive information that needed protecting. Lowell Neumann Nickey reports: Health insurance…
PSA: HHS establishing medical shelter to aid those affected by Hurricane Harvey
The following is a public service announcement from HHS: Thousands of Texans sheltering at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston will have medical care on-site through a 250-bed Federal Medical Station established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the request of the State Department of Health. The Federal…
Improper HIPAA Disclosure Results in Termination and Legal Dispute
Cynthia A. Bremer & David McKinney of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. write: The Kentucky Court of Appeals recently held that a hospital acted lawfully in terminating the employment of a nurse for violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The nurse had been within earshot of other patients…