OCR Continues HIPAA Right of Access Crackdown, but at a Much Slower Pace
Twenty different providers have been hit with fines since the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative in April 2019. However, the size of the fines has been relatively small, with only three reaching six figures. Perhaps more significantly, the pace of reported Access Initiatives has slowed noticeably since the new Biden administration. Implication: Either the OCR isn’t reporting settlements, or the new regime is less interested than its predecessor in pressing forward on access enforcement actions. Here’s a summary of all of the reported settlements so far, including the most recent $80,000 action against a children’s hospital in Nebraska. OCR Right of Access Initiative Settlements Scorecard (as of Sept. 27, 2021) Provider Settlement Amount* Allegations Banner Health ACE $200,000 OCR cites two occasions in which Phoenix-based not-for-profit health system took about 6 months to provide patients their requested PHI St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center $160,000 Phoenix hospital refused to provide PHI to patient’s mother even though she was his legal representative NY Spine Medicine $100,000 Neurology practice refuses patient’s multiple requests for copies of specific diagnostic films Bayfront Hospital $85,000 Florida hospital didn’t provide expectant mother timely […]
Twenty different providers have been hit with fines since the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative in April 2019. However, the size of the fines has been relatively small, with only three reaching six figures. Perhaps more significantly, the pace of reported Access Initiatives has slowed noticeably since the new Biden administration.
Implication: Either the OCR isn’t reporting settlements, or the new regime is less interested than its predecessor in pressing forward on access enforcement actions. Here’s a summary of all of the reported settlements so far, including the most recent $80,000 action against a children’s hospital in Nebraska.
OCR Right of Access Initiative Settlements Scorecard (as of Sept. 27, 2021)
| Provider | Settlement Amount* | Allegations |
| Banner Health ACE | $200,000 | OCR cites two occasions in which Phoenix-based not-for-profit health system took about 6 months to provide patients their requested PHI |
| St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center | $160,000 | Phoenix hospital refused to provide PHI to patient’s mother even though she was his legal representative |
| NY Spine Medicine | $100,000 | Neurology practice refuses patient’s multiple requests for copies of specific diagnostic films |
| Bayfront Hospital | $85,000 | Florida hospital didn’t provide expectant mother timely access to the PHI of her unborn child |
| Korunda Medical | $85,000 | After first refusing to provide it at all, Florida primary care and interventional pain management services provider sent patient’s PHI to third party in the wrong format and charged him excessive fees |
| Children’s Hospital & Medical Center | $80,000 | Nebraska hospital mother of minor patient timely access to her daughter’s medical records, despite repeated requests |
| Renown Health, P.C. | $75,000 | Nevada private, not-for-profit health system didn’t timely honor patient’s request to transfer her EHR and billing records to a third party |
| Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers | $70,000 | California hospital and healthcare network didn’t timely honor request to transfer patient’s EHR to a third party |
| Beth Israel Lahey Health Behavioral Services | $70,000 | Massachusetts provider ignored request of personal representative seeking access to her father’s PHI |
| Arbour Hospital | $65,000 | Massachusetts mental health services provider kept patient waiting 5 months before granting access to his PHI |
| University of Cincinnati Medical Center, LLC | $65,000 | Ohio academic medical center failed to respond to patient’s request to send an electronic copy of her medical records maintained in its electronic health record EHR to her lawyers |
| Housing Works Inc. | $38,000 | New York City non-profit services provider refused patient’s request for a copy of his medical records |
| Peter Wrobel, M.D., P.C., dba Elite Primary Care | $36,000 | Georgia primary care practice failed to provide patient access to his medical records |
| Village Plastic Surgery | $30,000 | New Jersey practice failed to provide patient timely access to his medical records |
| Riverside Psychiatric Medical Group | $25,000 | California medical group didn’t provide patient copy of her medical records despite repeated requests and OCR intervention |
| Dr. Rajendra Bhayani | $15,000 | NY physician didn’t provide patient her medical records even after OCR intervened and closed the complaint |
| All Inclusive Medical Services, Inc. | $15,000 | California multi-specialty family medicine clinic refused patient’s requests to inspect and receive a copy of her records |
| Wise Psychiatry, PC | $10,000 | Colorado psychiatric firm refused to provide personal representative access to his minor son’s medical record |
| Diabetes, Endocrinology & Lipidology Center, Inc. | $5,000 | West Virginia diabetes clinic made the mother of a minor patient wait nearly 2 years for access to his medical records |
| King MD | $3,500 | Virginia psychiatric practice didn’t provide patient access to her medical records even after OCR intervened, provided technical assistance and closed the complaint |
*In addition to the monetary settlement, each accused provider had to agree to implement a corrective action plan and allow the OCR to conduct close monitoring for one to two years
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