Health Care Privacy, Security and HIPAA Compliance (United States)

We provide practical solutions to the unprecedented challenges in managing privacy and data security risks and compliance.

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Health Care Privacy, Security and HIPAA Compliance (United States)

Health Care Privacy, Security and HIPAA Compliance (United States)

We provide practical solutions to the unprecedented challenges in managing privacy and data security risks and compliance.

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Dentons lawyers regularly advise clients to help navigate the complex and rapidly evolving framework of federal and state health information privacy, security, and data breach laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, and the Omnibus HIPAA Rule.

We provide legal advice that extends beyond the letter of the law, to encompass our understanding of emerging industry best practices and guidance (both formal and informal) from federal and state regulators. We help our clients understand these requirements and design real world strategies for effectively developing, managing, and implementing programs to protect and secure data, strengthen compliance, and implement integrated risk management solutions.

Dentons provides HIPAA and HITECH compliance counseling to hospitals, health plans, physician organizations, pharmacies, vision centers, laboratories, health care clearinghouses, health care information technology companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, third-party administrators, and employers that sponsor group health plans. On behalf of these organizations, the Firm:

Provides advice on various regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters;
Advises clients on compliance with HIPAA, HITECH and a host of other state health information and data breach laws;
Develops corporate privacy and security compliance programs that address the full range of applicable health information privacy, security, and data breach laws;
Assesses privacy and security compliance programs for effectiveness and compliance with applicable law;
Drafts and tailors health information policies, procedures, contracts, and notices to reflect applicable legal requirements, appropriate best practices, and the unique operations of a particular organization;
Prepares incident response plans to more efficiently and effectively respond to security incidents and breaches of health information;
Advises clients on responding to breaches of health information, including providing guidance related to investigating the incident, making the required notifications, mitigating potential harm and taking corrective action;
Develops training materials for employee education and provides training presentations for trainers and/or employees; and
Defends health care organizations in connection with administrative, civil and criminal audits, investigations and litigation relating to privacy and security matters.

Insights

Fifth Circuit ruling may make HIPAA enforcement more difficult

January 21, 2021

United States: On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (M.D. Anderson Cancer Center) striking down an over US$4.3 million civil monetary penalty (CMP) imposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), and the implementing regulations thereunder (collectively, the HIPAA Rules).