Florida Treatment Center Settles HIPAA Right of Access Enforcement Action for $160,000

Case: On October 1, 2019, the patient of a Florida eating disorder treatment center requested a copy of her medical records. Seven weeks later, she sent a repeat request. Not until May 22, 2020 did the center send the requested records. The Office for Civil Rights charged the center with a HIPAA access violation. The center agreed to shell out $160,000 and implement a burdensome Corrective Action Plan to settle the case [Rainrock Treatment Center, LLC dba Monte Nido Rainrock]. Significance: You better respond promptly when patients request access to their medical records. Twenty-five different providers who denied or delayed access requests have been targeted for enforcement action under the OCR’s HIPAA Right of Access initiative since it launched last year. At $160,000, this is tied for the second highest settlement amount recovered as a result of the initiative.