Much has been made about business associates in HITECH and the HIPAA Final Omnibus Rule. In a previous post and in our webinar we hit on the high points – that much of HIPAA applies directly to business associates, and that business associates themselves have obligations relative to their business associates. Indeed, not only do… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Business Associate
The Final Omnibus HIPAA Rule: Are You Ready?
Posted in Enforcement, RulemakingAs we mentioned in last week’s Webinar on the HIPAA Final Omnibus Rule, there are less than nine short months for covered entities and their business associates (and all downstream business associates) to comply with the HIPAA final rules. For those entities that have already taken steps following the release of the HITECH interim rules, the… Continue Reading
HIPAA Final Rule Clarifies Business Associate Obligations
Posted in RulemakingBusiness Associates: You’re on notice. When the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”) was enacted nearly four years ago, business associates were aware that HIPAA compliance was going to be required of them – they were just not sure of the extent. Historically, business associates have been required to comply with… Continue Reading
OCR Presents Preliminary HIPAA Audit Findings
Posted in EnforcementOCR’s Audit Program, which began in December 2011, is part of HHS’ efforts under HITECH to assess HIPAA compliance by covered entities, identify best practices, and discover risks and vulnerabilities in protecting the privacy and security of PHI which may not have come to light through OCR’s complaint investigation and compliance reviews. OCR has repeatedly stated that… Continue Reading
HIPAA Business Associate Becomes Target of State AG Enforcement
Posted in Business Associate, EnforcementA recent complaint filed by the Minnesota State Attorney General against a HIPAA business associate seeks to recover statutory damages for multiple alleged violations of the HIPAA Security Rule. Following last year’s HHS OCR enforcement targeting HIPAA covered entities, this latest HIPAA enforcement should place all business associates on notice that enforcement authorities have them… Continue Reading