Health Information Management

Civil monetary penalties for HIPAA violations to be made public

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, July 25, 2005

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIPAA Weekly Advisor!

Organizations that are found guilty of HIPAA violations and handed civil monetary penalties will have to worry about more than the financial implications. They will also face some bad publicity because all civil monetary penalties will be made public, according to last week's teleconference from the Southern Healthcare Administrative Regional Process (SHARP) Workgroup and CMS.

Speakers for the July 20 teleconference, "HIPAA Administrative Simplification Enforcement," described the administrative process taken in the enforcement of the HIPAA regulations, as well as any significant difference between the interim enforcement rule expiring September 16 and the new enforcement notice of proposed rule-making. Other changes worth noting include the following:

  • The new rule will cover the enforcement of all aspects of HIPAA, not just privacy. That also includes the transactions and code sets implementation specifications.
  • HHS can use information from HIPAA-related investigations for other investigations-for example, for fraud.
  • Organizations have no right of appeal if they are found guilty of a violation but do not receive civil monetary penalties.

Stay tuned for more to come.



Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIPAA Weekly Advisor!

  • Briefings on APCs

    Worried about the complexities of the new rules under OPPS and APCs? Briefings on APCs helps you understand the new rules...

  • Medical Records Briefing

    Guiding Health Information Management professionals through the continuously changing field of medical records and toward a...

  • Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies

    Submitting improper Medicare documentaion can lead to denial of fees, payback, fines, and increased diligence from payers...

  • Briefings on HIPAA

    How can you minimize the impact of HIPAA? Subscribe to Briefings on HIPAA, your health information management resource for...

  • APCs Weekly Monitor

    This HTML-based e-mail newsletter provides weekly tips and advice on the new ambulatory payment classifications regulations...

Most Popular

Related Articles