Don’t Be Next: HIPAA Fine Shows Risk of Ignoring Security Risk Analysis

April 17, 2025


Let’s make this clear: The Security Risk Analysis (SRA) is at the foundation of a compliant practice.

The SRA is the proactive assessment of your practices’ physical, technical, and administrative safeguards. Physical safeguards include alarms, codes, and other procedures or devices your practice might deploy. Technical safeguards involve cybersecurity protocols, like firewalls, antivirus software, encryption, and other security measures.

Lastly, the administrative safeguards are your practice’s actions, such as using visitor IDs, maintaining a sign-in sheet, or even posting about patients on social media.

The latest HIPAA fine is another reminder of the importance of the SRA in protecting patient data.

This is the sixth Risk Analysis Initiative enforcement since the end of last year. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is serious about ensuring that practices know this requirement. This focus has remained consistent even during administration transitions.

Said best by OCR Acting Director Anthony Archeval, “A failure to conduct a risk analysis often foreshadows a future HIPAA breach.”

 

What Happened? 

Northeast Radiology, P.C. (NERAD), a healthcare provider specializing in medical imaging clinical services in New York and Connecticut, experienced a significant breach that exposed nearly 300,000 patients’ Protected Health Information (PHI).

The breach, which occurred from April 2019 to January 2020, was caused by unauthorized individuals accessing radiology images of patients due to a compromised server.

When the OCR began investigating the practice in March 2020, it was discovered that NERAD did not have an SRA. Due to the absence of this document and the sheer size of the breach, the organization was fined $350,000 and will undergo a two-year Corrective Action Plan (CAP).

 

Completing an SRA

NERAD’s HIPAA settlement with the OCR is a clear reminder that your practice needs to complete an SRA long before a breach occurs. While an SRA might seem daunting, addressing problems before patients’ information is at risk is much easier.

Completing this risk assessment can help your practice identify vulnerabilities before they escalate into compliance issues. While the SRA mandates practices to analyze and review existing procedures thoroughly, this process doesn’t need to be overwhelming or costly.

With smart solutions, your practice can answer simple questions about your practice while the software intuitively builds out an SRA report, analyzes the current situation, and provides recommendations to mitigate potential risks.

To learn more about how your practice can streamline the SRA, schedule a consultation with an expert today.

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