On March 10, 2025, Vision Upright MRI notified HHS of a breach affecting 23,031 patients, but there was nothing posted on their website to explain the breach. A press release issued by HHS today provides some explanation for the incident that involved the medical images of 21,778 patients. From their release:
OCR initiated a compliance review of Vision Upright MRI after learning that the provider experienced a breach of ePHI stored on its Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) server for storing, retrieving, managing, and accessing radiology images, due to an unauthorized third party’s impermissible access. OCR’s investigation revealed that Vision Upright MRI had never conducted a HIPAA risk analysis and that it had failed to complete timely breach notification, within 60 days of discovering the breach, to the 21,778 individuals affected.
[Note: HHS’s documentation for this enforcement action indicates that on December 1, 2020, HHS notified VUM of its investigation into VUM’s compliance with the applicable Federal Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information and/or the Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information (45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164, Subparts A, C, and E, the Privacy and Security Rules), and the Breach Notification Rule (45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164, Subpart D). Nowhere do they state when the breach actually occurred. They only state that VUM failed to notify people within 60 days. When was the breach discovered and when were patients first notified?]
Under the terms of the resolution agreement, Vision Upright MRI agreed to implement a corrective action plan that will be monitored by OCR for two years and paid $5,000 to OCR. Vision Upright MRI will also take steps to improve its compliance with the HIPAA Security and Breach Notification Rules and protect the security of ePHI, including:
- Providing required breach notifications to affected individuals, HHS and the media;
- Submitting to OCR its most recently completed risk analysis to include all electronic media, regardless of its source or location (i.e. electronic equipment, data systems, programs, off-site data storage and applications) that contains, stores, transmits or receives ePHI;
- Developing and implementing a risk management plan to address and mitigate any security risks and vulnerabilities identified in its risk analysis;
- Developing, maintaining, and revising, as necessary, written policies and procedures to comply with the HIPAA Rules; and
- Providing workforce training on HIPAA policies and procedures to all workforce members that have access to ePHI.
The resolution agreement and corrective action plan may be found at: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/compliance-enforcement/agreements/hhs-ocr-hipaa-racap-vum/index.html