DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

North Memorial Hospital settles HHS charges for $1.55M

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Dissent

First: refresh your memory of a 2011 breach involving Accretive Health, a business associate of North Memorial Hospital.

Then read HHS’s press release how that breach just cost North Memorial Hospital $1.55 million, and why:

$1.55 million settlement underscores the importance of executing HIPAA business associate agreements 

North Memorial Health Care of Minnesota has agreed to pay $1,550,000 to settle charges that it potentially violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules by failing to enter into a business associate agreement with a major contractor and failing to institute an organization-wide risk analysis to address the risks and vulnerabilities to its patient information. North Memorial is a comprehensive, not-for-profit health care system in Minnesota that serves the Twin Cities and surrounding communities.

“Two major cornerstones of the HIPAA Rules were overlooked by this entity,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). “Organizations must have in place compliant business associate agreements as well as an accurate and thorough risk analysis that addresses their enterprise-wide IT infrastructure.”

OCR initiated its investigation of North Memorial following receipt of a breach report on September 27, 2011, which indicated that an unencrypted, password-protected laptop was stolen from a business associate’s workforce member’s locked vehicle, impacting the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of 9,497 individuals.

OCR’s investigation indicated that North Memorial failed to have in place a business associate agreement, as required under the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, so that its business associate could perform certain payment and health care operations activities on its behalf. North Memorial gave its business associate, Accretive Health, Inc., access to North Memorial’s hospital database, which stored the ePHI of 289,904 patients. Accretive also received access to non-electronic protected health information as it performed services on-site at North Memorial.

The investigation further determined that North Memorial failed to complete a risk analysis to address all of the potential risks and vulnerabilities to the ePHI that it maintained, accessed, or transmitted across its entire IT infrastructure — including but not limited to all applications, software, databases, servers, workstations, mobile devices and electronic media, network administration and security devices, and associated business processes.

In addition to the $1,550,000 payment, North Memorial is required to develop an organization-wide risk analysis and risk management plan, as required under the Security Rule. North Memorial will also train appropriate workforce members on all policies and procedures newly developed or revised pursuant to this corrective action plan.

The Resolution Agreement and Corrective Action Plan can be found on the HHS website at: http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/compliance-enforcement/agreements/north-memorial-health-care/index.html.

HHS offers model business associate agreement language at: http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/covered-entities/sample-business-associate-agreement-provisions/index.html as well as guidance on conducting a HIPAA Risk Analysis: http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/security-risk-assessment.

HHS offers model business associate agreement language at: http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/covered-entities/sample-business-associate-agreement-provisions/index.html as well as guidance on conducting a HIPAA Risk Analysis: http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/security-risk-assessment.

P.S. Also keep in mind that FTC went after Accretive Health as a data security enforcement case. Accretive settled the FTC charges in December 2013.  So one incident, two federal agencies, with different points being made in their respective enforcement actions.


Related:

  • Missouri Adopts New Data Breach Notice Law
  • Qantas obtains injunction to prevent hacked data’s release
  • Ransomware attack disrupts Korea's largest guarantee insurer
  • Theft from Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital sparks probe
  • Global operation targets NoName057(16) pro-Russian cybercrime network in Operation Eastwood
  • More than 100 British government personnel exposed by Ministry of Defence data leak
Category: Health DataOf NoteSubcontractorU.S.

Post navigation

← Confidential Ohio medical records exposed
Cloquet schools suffer ‘ransomware’ attack →

2 thoughts on “North Memorial Hospital settles HHS charges for $1.55M”

  1. Justin Shafer says:
    March 17, 2016 at 12:07 am

    OMFG… OMG

    1. Justin Shafer says:
      March 17, 2016 at 12:10 am

      Sorry.. shouldn’t say that.

Comments are closed.

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Missouri Adopts New Data Breach Notice Law
  • Qantas obtains injunction to prevent hacked data’s release
  • Ransomware attack disrupts Korea’s largest guarantee insurer
  • Theft from Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital sparks probe
  • Global operation targets NoName057(16) pro-Russian cybercrime network in Operation Eastwood
  • More than 100 British government personnel exposed by Ministry of Defence data leak
  • New TeleMessage SGNL Flaw Is Actively Being Exploited by Attackers
  • North Country Healthcare responds to Stormous’s claims of a breach
  • Gladney Adoption Center had serious data exposures in the past few months. What will they do to prevent more?
  • Former U.S. Soldier Pleads Guilty to Hacking and Extortion Scheme Involving Telecommunications Companies

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Meta investors, Zuckerberg reach settlement to end $8 billion trial over Facebook privacy violations
  • ICE is gaining access to trove of Medicaid records, adding new peril for immigrants
  • Microsoft can’t protect French data from US government access
  • Texas Enacts Electronic Health Record Data Localization Law
  • Upstate NY county clerk again refuses to enforce Texas abortion judgment
  • Attorney General James Leads Coalition Urging Congress to Protect Americans from Masked ICE Agents
  • Attorney General Tong Announces $85,000 Settlement with TicketNetwork for Violations of the Connecticut Data Privacy Act​

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.