Happy April Fools Day! We hope you’re enjoying the holiday with some lighthearted fun and pranks!
Now, HIPAA regulations are no laughing matter. HIPAA regulations are in place to protect patients’ information, making sure we all have the rights we deserve to keep our information safe.
Today, we’re talking about the latest HIPAA fine, given to a multi-location nursing care organization in Oklahoma, Phoenix Healthcare.
Phoenix Healthcare was fined 35 grand for violating the HIPAA Right of Access Rule, being the butt of the joke of this major fine.
Get buckled up, pranksters! We’re all in for some April Fools’ fun but don’t even think about messing with HIPAA. Patient privacy is no joke!
So, What Happened?
Well, what happened was unfortunately not a prank.
Phoenix Healthcare withheld someone’s health information for almost a year after an initial request was made.
The OCR was made aware of this not-so-funny situation by a caretaker trying to get the health information of her mother, a patient at the nursing home.
Like a joke that went on too long, Phoenix Healthcare eventually did send the information to the daughter. However, the HIPAA Right of Access Rule requires information to be shared within thirty days of a request. Some states, it’s even sooner, like California!
The daughter reported the HIPAA violation to the OCR, and at first, Phoenix Healthcare was ordered to pay a fine of 75,000!
With an appeal, and an agreement that Phoenix Healthcare updates its HIPAA policies and procedures, and provides training, the fine was lowered to 35,000.
Whew! While Phoenix Healthcare is still on thin ice, they saved themselves a lot of money.
What can I learn from this?
Well, great question! First, HIPAA compliance is no joke. But don’t worry, no April Fool’s pranks here! To stay ahead of the curve, we can make sure your practice is up-to-date on all the HIPAA rules. That way, you can focus on the fun and leave the compliance worries to us.
With Abyde, we make sure you Never Stress Over Compliance Again! The Abyde software offers a variety of features to simplify the compliance process. Yes, the words ‘simple’ and ‘compliance’ can be in the same sentence.
While this is a chore for Phoenix Healthcare, the Abyde software even includes dynamically generated policies and procedures, having HIPAA-compliant policies in seconds. The training is also covered, with our enjoyable training that somehow turns learning about HIPAA fun!
We promise you, this isn’t an April Fools trick, we actually make compliance easy. To learn more about how Abyde can help your practice, schedule a consultation, here.