What Up Wednesday - #1 Introduction to HIPAA Violations

Introduction to HIPAA Violations

Here at VanRein Compliance, we have been receiving a number of phone calls and emails over the last few weeks from people wanting to discuss a possible HIPAA violation that involves them, friends, family members, their medical provider, or their employer.  We thought it would be best to do an email series on what is a HIPAA violation and what are the types of violations as well as the complaint process.This week let's start with the basic types of HIPAA violations and what to do if you feel that your health information has been violated.

There are many different types of HIPAA violations, but some of the most common ones include:

• Improper access to your health information

• Improper disclosure of your health information

• Failure to secure your health information

• Use or disclosure of your health information for unauthorized purposes

If you believe that your health information has been violated, it is important to report the violation to the appropriate authorities. This could be your Human Resources department with your employer, your Medical Provider's Compliance Officer, or filing a complaint directly to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Stay tuned for the next email in this series, where we will explore different types of HIPAA violations in more detail.