Insights on Health Privacy, Security & HIPAA

The Federal government is warning that the threat of cybercrime, and especially ransomware, to US hospitals and healthcare providers has increased.

Health Care partner Thomas Jeffry was recently quoted in a Healthcare Risk Management article titled “COVID-19 Changes HIPAA Compliance, But Caution Necessary.”

Health Care Partner Anne Murphy was recently quoted by Bloomberg Law in an article titled “Hospitals Walk Legal Tightrope as Workers Speak Out on Virus.”

Health Care partner Anne Murphy will present during the 2020 American Health Law Association’s (AHLA) In-House Counsel Program.

Rachel Hold-Weiss will present during the 2020 American Health Law Association’s (AHLA) Annual Meeting. Rachel’s presentation “Hindsight is 2020: A Look at Home Health and Hospice in the New Decade,” focuses on compliance and regulatory issues for home health and hospice providers.

Healthcare partner Stephanie Trunk has been selected by JD Supra to receive a 2020 Readers’ Choice Award in the healthcare category.

As the spread of COVID-19 accelerates across the United States, hospitals, health systems, and other providers face unique challenges. Arent Fox’s Health Care Group analyzes what you need to know about regulatory changes and guidance from the federal government.

Check out the analysis by Protenus, a health care compliance analytics firm.

A software developer of an electronic health records system utilizing AI is the recent target in a DOJ fraud investigation.

We are pleased to provide you with the updated, 2019 version of the Arent Fox Survey of Data Breach Notification Statutes. The Arent Fox 2019 Survey serves as a reminder to the health care industry that HIPAA is only one of many data breach notification requirements. Make sure your breach response p

Please join Arent Fox in San Francisco for our annual Medical Staff Leaders and the Law Conference. This full day conference is designed to equip your medical staff team with the most current skills, tools, and information to navigate challenging issues and provide effective leadership.

Please join Arent Fox in Costa Mesa for our ninth annual Medical Staff Leaders and the Law Conference. This full day conference is designed to equip your medical staff team with the most current skills, tools, and information to navigate challenging issues and provide effective leadership.

We are very pleased to announce that our Health Care attorneys will be hosting two Medical Staff Leaders and the Law Conferences in 2019.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is overhauling the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Medicare and Medicaid program for hospitals.

On March 28, 2018, the Governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey, signed SB 318, the Alabama Data Breach Notification Act, which becomes effective June 1, 2018. Alabama is just behind South Dakota, which enacted its data breach notification statute this past March.

On March 21, 2018, South Dakota became the forty-ninth state to enact a data breach notification statute, which becomes effective July 1, 2018.

On December 28, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Survey and Certification Memorandum Number 18-10-ALL to the State Survey Agencies clarifying its position regarding texting health care information by providers.

Earlier this month, the Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force sent to Congress the Report On Improving Cybersecurity in the Health Care Industry.

Earlier today, numerous hospitals operated by Britain’s National Health Service suffered a ransomware event in which hospital computer systems were encrypted, phone lines became inoperable, patients were diverted, and a Bitcoin ransom was demanded.

On Monday, the US Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced that CardioNet has entered into a $2.5 million HIPAA settlement.

The Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, permits hospitals and other health care providers to disclose medical information without the patient’s consent for the purposes of reviewing the competence or qualifications of health care professionals or health care services.

For the first time in nearly three decades, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has updated the regulations on the confidentiality of substance abuse treatment records found in 42 C.F.R. Part 2.

This is HHS’ first enforcement action against a covered entity that reported a breach, but did not do so timely.

Just before Christmas, The Joint Commission (TJC) published an update clarifying its previous guidance regarding practitioners’ use of text messaging. TJC now says that practitioners may communicate with each other via secure text messaging systems.