Largest HIPAA Settlement Ever: What You Need to Know
The operator of 12 hospitals and more than 200 other treatment centers in Chicago and central Illinois has agreed to the largest settlement to date with the Office for Civil Rights for multiple potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, reports Kelly A. Leahy of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.
The agreement will cost Advocate Health Care Network $5.5 million and force Advocate to adopt a multi-year corrective action plan that stemmed from three incidents reported to OCR in 2013. The breaches involved Advocate’s medical group subsidiary, Advocate Medical Group, which employs more than 1,000 physicians. The incidents that cost Advocate involved data breaches involving unencrypted devices and unauthorized access to a network.
In the article, Leahy offers some suggestions for what covered entities and business associates can do to prevent costly fines and burdensome settlements.
