The FAQs included in my prior post address employer response with an eye to HIPAA compliance. What else can an employer do or not do with employee information related to COVID-19 status? Even covered entities and business associates concerned with HIPAA must be alert to other laws that affect their communications and action plans. Employers
FAQs on HIPAA Privacy and COVID-19
Fox Rothschild partner Bill Maruca’s article, “Protecting Privacy During an Infectious Disease Panic”, is (unfortunately) as relevant today as it was when it was posted here more than 5 years ago. Swap Ebola for COVID-19, and the article provides useful guidance for covered entities and business associates subject to HIPAA and to employers, family and
Does the HIPAA Concept of De-identification Serve to Adequately Protect the Privacy of all Personal Health Information?
Fellow Fox Rothschild LLP Partner (and former hospital system General Counsel) Salvatore J. Russo generously contributed this post.
Some twenty-three years ago, the first well-publicized incident of the re-identification of de-identified personal health data was brought to the attention of the American public. It involved the then governor of Massachusetts, William Weld. Dr. Latanya Sweeney
Foreshadowing HIPAA Trends for 2020
As she has done for a number of years now, our good friend Marla Durben Hirsch highlighted Fox Rothschild (Fox) lawyers in her annual predictions articles in the January 2020 issue of Medical Practice Compliance Alert (MPCA). In her first article entitled “Technology will propel compliance trends in 2020”, Marla included the following
HIPAA versus FERPA: New Joint Guidance Highlights Emergencies and Complexities
More than eleven years have passed since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency responsible for the privacy of protected health information under HIPAA, and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), the agency responsible for the privacy of student records under FERPA, issued joint guidance on the interplay between HIPAA and
How the Grinch Steals Health Care Data: OCR Warnings and Tips in Time for the Holidays
More and more often, health care data is stolen or made inaccessible by targeted ransomware attacks. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a newsletter this week that provides warnings for HIPAA covered entities and business associates. It also provides practical tips to prevent and help you survive these attacks.
OCR’s warnings should resonate with
Wearable Devices, Wellness Programs, and Health Apps: The Fringes of HIPAA
With the explosion of health data sifting through cutting-edge companies, industry stakeholders are left to wonder how wearable devices, wellness programs, health applications, and the like should be regulated.
Despite current belief, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) does not regulate all health information. HIPAA regulates health information collected and retained by covered
Data Privacy and Bias Concerns in AI Health Tech
Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) refers to algorithm tools that simulate human intelligence, mimic human actions, and can incorporate self-learning software. The benefits of AI tech can reduce spending, provide alternative treatment ideas, and improve patient experience, diagnosis, and outcome.
Consider virtual health assistants who deliver medication alerts and patient education, AI used to detect abnormalities in
Too Much (Protected Health) Information Exposed + Too Little Response = $3M and Corrective Action Plan for Medical Imaging Company
“TMI” usually means “too much information”, but it was used aptly by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) as an acronym for a covered entity that exposed protected health information (PHI) of more than 300,000 patients through an insecurely configured server. According to the April 5, 2019 Resolution Agreement, the covered entity, Touchstone Medical
Mental Health Apps Sharing Health Data Without Disclosure or Consent
A study shows that “92 percent of 36 mental health apps shared data with at least one third party — mostly services that help with marketing, advertising, or data analytics.”
“About half of those apps did not disclose that third-party data sharing, for a few different reasons: nine apps didn’t have a privacy policy at