Health Information Management

OCR to refer criminal cases to DOJ

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 26, 2003

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Administering criminal penalties for privacy violations is not within the jurisdiction of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), so OCR will refer criminal cases to the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to Susan McAndrew, OCR's senior advisor for HIPAA privacy policy.

Several complaints have already been referred to the DOJ because the allegations suggested possible intentional disclosure of PHI, McAndrew told attendees September 16 at the Seventh Annual HIPAA Summit in Baltimore.

OCR receives approximately 75 complaints per week. About one-third of those cases are closed or dismissed because either they occurred prior to April 14, 2003, or are not related to or covered by the privacy rule, she said. The most frequent complaints involve the following:

  • Need of information disclosed
  • Access to records
  • Safeguards

    OCR has not imposed any civil monetary penalties yet and is looking for cooperation from covered entities that are out of compliance, said McAndrew.

    Go to http://www.hipaasummit.com/for more information on the Seventh Annual HIPAA Summit.



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