OCR’s First Settlement of the Year: More HIPAA Right of Access Violations

January 12, 2021

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) wasted no time starting on their new year’s resolutions, announcing their 14th settlement as part of the HIPAA right of Access initiative just 2 weeks into 2021. Patient right of access fines are starting to become a monthly occurrence, and it’s no surprise that the OCR would start off the new year with the same enforcement efforts they ended 2020 with.

Banner Health, an Arizona-based non-profit health system operating 30 hospitals, primary care, urgent care, and specialty care facilities across the country, became the OCR’s first victim of the year with the largest right of access fine to date – $200,000. 

This hefty payout comes as a result of two separate complaints filed against Banner Health, both highlighting the health systems noncompliance with the HIPAA right of access standard. 

  • Complaint number one started back in December of 2017 after a patient requested access to their medical records but did not receive the records until May of the following year.
  • The second complaint resulted after an individual requested access to an electronic copy of their health records in September 2019 but – surprise, surprise – didn’t actually receive the records until the following year, in February of 2020. 

If today’s settlement isn’t enough reason to avoid dragging your feet on records requests and getting HIPAA compliant ASAP, maybe the latest statement from OCR Director Roger Severino will seal the deal: “This first resolution of the year signals that our Right of Access Initiative is still going strong and that providers of all sizes need to respect the right of patients to have timely access to their medical records.”  

The OCR has clearly hit the ground running with HIPAA enforcement in the new year and it’s more important than ever to get your practice compliant. OCR Director Roger Severino has been beating the same right of access drum for over a year, and it’s no surprise given that audit results released just this past December show that most covered entities (a whopping 89%) don’t meet patient access requirements.

Concerned your practice falls in that boat? Schedule a consultation today with one of our HIPAA experts to see where you currently stand and what you need to do to avoid falling into the government’s crosshairs in 2021.   

 

 

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