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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Health Care, Incident Reporting, Legal

  A previous Lessons Learned Blog mentioned the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and a special bounty program within the Act for whistleblowers.  Did you see it? An attorney at the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Annual National Institute legal update says healthcare providers may be heading into a storm of whistleblower suits that could cause serious problems for the unprepared. The attorney predicts the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could lead to an explosion of whistleblower lawsuits because the new law does not require the plaintiff to have direct knowledge of alleged fraud to file a suit. So if youRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Information Privacy, Information Security, Regulatory Compliance

Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new regulations this week requiring healthcare providers, health plans and other entities covered by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to notify patients if their electronic health information has been breached. The regulations were developed by HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and require healthcare providers and other HIPAA covered entities to promptly notify people, the HHS and the media in breaches that affect more than 500 people. Earlier this week, HHS announced that they delegated the authority for the administration and enforcement of the HIPAA Security Rule to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Any lessons learnedRead More →