OCR to continue voluntary compliance policy
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, April 17, 2006
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Although the new enforcement rule formalizes the use of civil monetary penalties (CMPs), voluntary compliance remains the best and most efficient way of promoting HIPAA compliance, OCR Director Winston Wilkinson, Esq., told attendees at The Twelfth National HIPAA Summit in Washington, DC.
"We are ready to take compliance to the next level but continue to stress voluntary compliance. Our enforcement activity will continue to be complaint- and event-driven," Wilkinson said.
HHS will continue to work with organizations informally to resolve complaints, Wilkinson said. The OCR will seek CMPs only if this process is not successful. "Expect that CMP use will be an exception," he added.
OCR has resolved 72% of the approximately 18,900 complaints it received through March 2006. It referred 300 complaints to the Department of Justice for criminal review.
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