In May 2011, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule to modify the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s standard for accounting of disclosures of protected health information (PHI). The proposed rule would have implemented the HITECH Act’s requirement for covered entities and business associates […]
Alston & Bird’s Dominique Shelton Moderates Privacy Panel for Lex Mundi in Paris
On September 26, 2014, Alston & Bird co-sponsored a privacy panel at the Lex Mundi IP conference in Paris, France. Moderated by Dominique Shelton, the panel featured speakers from Scripps Interactive Network, Roche Diagnostics, Jackel International, and GE. The conference also featured as its keynote speaker Florence Raynal, Head of the Department of European and […]
Alston & Bird Health Care Advisory: HIPAA Audit Program Phase 2 Update
We have previously blogged about the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services HIPAA Audit Program, including the Audit Program pilot (November 30, 2011 and March 7, 2012), the release of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) audit protocols (June 26, 2012), and the status of phase 2 of the Audit Program (February 26, 2014 […]
New California Law Expands Data Security Requirements, SSN Protections and Breach Notification Obligations
On September 30, 2014, the Governor of California signed Assembly Bill 1710, which made three small but important changes to the state’s privacy laws. The bill: (1) amended California’s breach notification law to require that the notifying entities offer identity theft protection services to affected individuals in certain cases; (2) required California businesses that “maintain” […]
Laboratories Must Comply with New HIPAA Patient Access Rules by October 6, 2014
HIPAA covered laboratories and hospitals with laboratories subject to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (“CLIA”) must comply with changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule that provide patients with direct access to laboratory test results by October 6, 2014. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the HHS Office for Civil […]