DataBreaches.Net

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

OCR Releases Its 2016-2017 Audit Report on Health Care Industry Compliance with the HIPAA Rules

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Dissent

Today, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its 2016-2017 HIPAA Audits Industry Report that reviewed selected health care entities and business associates for compliance with certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act requires HHS to periodically audit covered entities and business associates for their compliance with the HIPAA Rules.   OCR conducted audits of 166 covered entities and 41 business associates and has notified these organizations of OCR’s findings.  OCR is publishing this Industry Report to share the overall findings on compliance with the audited provisions of the HIPAA Rules within a sample of the regulated industry.  A summary of the audit findings includes:

  • Most covered entities met the timeliness requirements for providing breach notification to individuals;
  • Most covered entities that maintained a website about their customer services or benefits satisfied the requirement to prominently post their Notice of Privacy Practices on their website;
  • Most covered entities failed to provide all of the required content for a Notice of Privacy Practices;
  • Most covered entities failed to provide all of the required content for breach notification to individuals;
  • Most covered entities failed to properly implement the individual right of access requirements such as timely action within 30 days and charging a reasonable cost-based fee;
  • Most covered entities and business associates failed to implement the HIPAA Security Rule requirements for risk analysis and risk management.

“The audit results confirm the wisdom of OCR’s increased enforcement focus on hacking and OCR’s Right of Access initiative,” said OCR Director Roger Severino. “We will continue our HIPAA enforcement initiatives until health care entities get serious about identifying security risks to health information in their custody and fulfilling their duty to provide patients with timely and reasonable, cost-based access to their medical records.”

The 2016-2017 HIPAA Audits Industry Report may be found at:  https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/hipaa-audits-industry-report.pdf.

Source:  HHS

 

Category: Commentaries and AnalysesFederalHealth DataHIPAAOf NoteU.S.

Post navigation

← Suspected Russian hacking spree extended beyond SolarWinds users
MEDNAX Services notifies patients of data breach →

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

  • Mysterious leaker GangExposed outs Conti kingpins in massive ransomware data dump
  • Resource: HoganLovells Asia-Pacific Data, Privacy and Cybersecurity Guide 2025
  • Class action settlement following ransomware attack will cost Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center about $52 million
  • Comstar LLC agrees to corrective action plan and fine to settle HHS OCR charges
  • Australian ransomware victims now must tell the government if they pay up
  • U.S. Sanctions Cloud Provider ‘Funnull’ as Top Source of ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams
  • Victoria’s Secret takes down website after security incident
  • U.S. Government Employee Arrested for Attempting to Provide Classified Information to Foreign Government
  • St. Cloud Provides Update on Ransomware Attack in 2024
  • Bradford Health Systems detected abnormal network activity in December 2023. They first sent out breach notices this week.

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

  • Resource: HoganLovells Asia-Pacific Data, Privacy and Cybersecurity Guide 2025
  • She Got an Abortion. So A Texas Cop Used 83,000 Cameras to Track Her Down.
  • Why AI May Be Listening In on Your Next Doctor’s Appointment
  • Watch out for activist judges trying to deprive us of our rights to safe reproductive healthcare
  • Nebraska Bans Minor Social Media Accounts Without Parental Consent
  • Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans
  • The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database

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.