HIPAA Enforcement Designated to OCR
Further strengthening the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was granted subpoena powers to investigate policy violations. The new authority was officially granted by HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on April 16th with a posting in the Federal Register.
The existing enforcement policies already designated OCR with investigative authority. This announcement streamlines the process by allowing OCR to act directly without requiring approval for subpoenas.
Leavitt also recently expanded the authority of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). That agency is charged with enforcing “transaction and code set” regulations.
Both HHS and OCR have been criticized about HIPAA enforcement in the past with the insinuation that policing is lax. Some, including the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation, blame changes in the regulations made during the Bush administration. Over 26,000 complaints have been received; 6,000 are still under investigation.
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April 24, 2007 Related topics: General Management & Administration, Privacy