Michael Kline's Blog Post "HIPAA Compliance Trends for 2015" was quoted in the Corporate Counsel article, "After Sony Hack, More HIPAA Scrutiny Likely." Full text can be found in the January 26, 2015 issue, but a synopsis is below.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services won't be taking it easy this year when it comes to ensuring compliance with HIPAA in respect to private health records.
According to Michael Kline and Elizabeth Litten, "The tremendous publicity that breaches outside of the HIPAA area have received, such as the hacking of Home Depot and Sony, will create more pressure on HHS' Office for Civil Rights to enforce HIPAA breaches. Providers will not see a reprieve in this area."
Kline and Litten also predict more private litigation. Though HIPAA itself does not give patients the right to sue for violations, a November 2014 ruling in a Connecticut Supreme Court recognized HIPAA's requirements as a standard of care in a state breach of privacy lawsuit.
"Elizabeth and I observed that the Connecticut case will spawn copycat lawsuits using HIPAA the same way for state breaches of privacy, negligence and other causes of action."
Click here to view the blog post.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
