DataBreaches.Net

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

Dental Practice Pays $10,000 to Settle Social Media Disclosures of Patients’ Protected Health Information

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Dissent

HHS OCR has announced another settlement of a HIPAA complaint:

Elite Dental Associates, Dallas (“Elite”) has agreed to pay $10,000 to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and to adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule.  Elite is a privately-owned dental practice located in Dallas, Texas, providing general, implant, and cosmetic dentistry.

On June 5, 2016, OCR received a complaint from an Elite patient alleging that Elite had responded to a social media review by disclosing the patient’s last name and details of the patient’s health condition.  OCR’s investigation found that Elite had impermissibly disclosed the protected health information (PHI) of multiple patients in response to patient reviews on the Elite Yelp review page.  Additionally, Elite did not have a policy and procedure regarding disclosures of PHI to ensure that its social media interactions protect the PHI of its patients or a Notice of Privacy Practices that complied with the HIPAA Privacy Rule.  OCR accepted a substantially reduced settlement amount in consideration of Elite’s size, financial circumstances, and cooperation with OCR’s investigation.

“Social media is not the place for providers to discuss a patient’s care,” said OCR Director, Roger Severino.  “Doctors and dentists must think carefully about patient privacy before responding to online reviews.”

In addition to the monetary settlement, Elite will undertake a corrective action plan that includes two years of monitoring by OCR for compliance with the HIPAA Rules. The resolution agreement and corrective action plan may be found at: http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/compliance-enforcement/agreements/elite/index.html.

Source:  HHS OCR

Related posts:

  • HHS Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Ransomware Cybersecurity Investigation for $90,000
  • HHS Office for Civil Rights Imposes a $240,000 Civil Monetary Penalty Against Providence Medical Institute in HIPAA Ransomware Cybersecurity Investigation
  • HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Settles Malicious Insider Cybersecurity Investigation for $4.75 Million
  • HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Settles HIPAA Security Rule Investigation with Health Fitness Corporation; $227k monetary penalty plus corrective action plan
Category: Commentaries and AnalysesExposureHealth DataOf NoteU.S.

Post navigation

← AU: Inside a massive cyber hack that risks compromising leaders across the globe
Daily Dicta: The FTC Should Be Suing Itself for How It Handled This Case →

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

  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates Notifies Individuals of Data Breach in 2024
  • Battlefords Union Hospitals notifies patients of employee snooping in their records
  • Alert: Scattered Spider has added North American airline and transportation organizations to their target list
  • Northern Light Health patients affected by security incident at Compumedics; 10 healthcare entities affected
  • Privacy commissioner reviewing reported Ontario Health atHome data breach
  • CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme
  • Ex-student charged with wave of cyber attacks on Sydney uni
  • Detaining Hackers Before the Crime? Tamil Nadu’s Supreme Court Approves Preventive Custody for Cyber Offenders
  • Potential Cyberattack Scrambles Columbia University Computer Systems

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

  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina
  • European Commission publishes its plan to enable more effective law enforcement access to data
  • Sacred Secrets: The Biblical Case for Privacy and Data Protection
  • Microsoft’s Departing Privacy Chief Calls for Regulator Outreach

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.