The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a report regarding the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) oversight of electronic health record (EHR) testing and certification, “The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s Oversight of the Testing and Certification of Electronic Health Records.” ONC was statutorily […]
HIPAA/Health Information Privacy, Security & Breach Response
OCR Issues Two New Reports to Congress on HIPAA Compliance and Enforcement from 2011 to 2012
Last week the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) presented certain findings regarding Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) compliance and enforcement to the National Committee on Health and Vital Statistics (“NCHVS”), an HHS advisory committee. The presentation reviewed OCR’s two recently issued reports to Congress. OCR is required to submit such reports under […]
West Virginia High Court Finds Standing without Harm for Invasion of Privacy Claim in State Data Breach Class Action
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently issued an important – but outlier – decision in a data breach class action. In a per curiam decision, the Court held that the plaintiffs had standing to bring their claims even though discovery revealed that not a single class member – much less the named plaintiffs […]
Angela Burnette and Julia Dempewolf Publish Article On Student Privacy and Preventing Campus Violence
Angela Burnette, Counsel at Alston & Bird, and Julia Dempewolf, an associate at Alston & Bird, have compiled practical guidance for schools and universities to consider regarding student privacy and the prevention of school violence. Their recent article, published by LexisNexis in Health Care Law Monthly, is entitled “Clarity Instead of Confusion: Available Solutions Under […]
Transmitting PHI by Email
Email has become an important mode of communication for business operations, with approximately 100 billion business emails sent in 2013 alone. Included in these messages are patients’ personal and health information, such as test results, diagnoses, and social security numbers. The Privacy and Security Rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 […]