The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has appointed former Department of Homeland Security Official, Lisa J. Pino, as the new director of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Pino comes into the new role bringing with her quite a repertoire of experience – previously serving as a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Department of Health and Senior Counselor for breach mitigation in the 2015 cyberattack on Office of Personnel Management. Her background lends itself to the new role of overseeing HIPAA enforcement and “her breadth of experience and management expertise, particularly her hand in advancing civil rights regulations and policy at the USDA will help ensure that we protect the right of every person across the country as we work to build a healthier America,” as stated by HHS Secretary, Xavier Becerra.

While already 10 months into 2021, the official appointment of leadership is a step in the right direction of continuing the OCR’s mission moving forward. Around this time last year, we were seeing HIPAA enforcement cases on a seemingly weekly basis – with five settlements announced in just one day alone. And while the past year has included new legislation like the Safe Harbor Law and 21st Century Cures Act as well as proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule – enforcement efforts have seemed to lose some momentum with only 7 settlements announced as opposed to the 20 cases closed in 2020.

But the recent dry spell of violations certainly does not mean that HIPAA compliance has lost its relevance. In fact, the continued rise in healthcare data breaches has made having the necessary measures in place to protect your practice and your patients all the more important. And with questions concerning the role that HIPAA law plays with the COVID-19 vaccine along with the proposed rulemaking to improve issues like patient right of access and administrative burdens on providers – Pino’s appointment couldn’t come at a more crucial time. 

So with plenty of important issues like cybersecurity, patient access and pending rulemaking on the to-do list – the role of protecting individuals and promoting effective healthcare operations is not one to be taken lightly. But with her background in both healthcare civil rights as well as privacy and security experience, we can expect HIPAA enforcement to be full steam ahead with Lisa J. Pino in the driver’s seat.