The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently warned healthcare providers and organizations about a new phishing scam that targets HIPAA Compliance Officers. Postcards are being mailed to various healthcare organizations that appear to be an official communication from OCR, stating that a mandatory HIPAA compliance risk assessment must

After a long quiet period, the second HIPAA settlement to be announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in an orchestrated one-two punch was far more costly to the second violator. Lifespan Health System Affiliated Covered Entity paid $1,040,000 to HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in June for failing to

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on July 23 that Metropolitan Community Health Services (Metro) paid $25,000 to HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to resolve HIPAA violations. Metro, a Federally Qualified Health Center, operates two multidisciplinary medical clinics in eastern North Carolina under the name of Agape Health Services.

Metro

On July 13, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced the adoption of revised Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulations in an effort to improve care coordination for substance abuse patients and reduce the burdens on their providers. The revisions to the regulations, commonly known as the Part 2 Rules

On April 6, Rivkin Radler’s Eric Fader presented a COVID-19 Business Briefing on Telehealth. The Briefing covered recent developments in federal and state law and policy, and changes in private insurers’ policies, that have been aimed at encouraging the use of telehealth during the current public health emergency.

This Business Briefing was the second in

Several of the provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) will help people with substance use disorders and the healthcare professionals who care for them. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will receive $425 million to address mental health and substance use disorder needs as a result of

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law on March 27, made some substantial changes to the confidentiality rules for substance abuse and mental health records to bring them in line with HIPAA confidentiality rules. Among the changes, a covered entity or business associate may now use or disclose substance

Rivkin Radler has launched a Coronavirus Resource Center on the firm’s website. All of the firm’s COVID-19-related articles and blog posts, across our many practice groups, are now compiled in one place for easy reference. We’ll continue adding to the Resource Center as the pandemic continues.

Responding to the Coronavirus public health emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has waived certain requirements of the Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including requirements relating to the Stark Self-Referral Law (“Stark”), the HIPAA privacy regulations and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This action was taken

As it has previously done for specific geographic areas affected by hurricanes, on March 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a HIPAA Bulletin providing for a limited waiver of HIPAA sanctions and penalties for covered entities during the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) public health emergency.

Such waiver is primarily intended to