Holland & Hart healthcare attorney Kim Stanger was quoted in a Renal & Urology News article titled “Blatant Failure to Report Breaches Can Bring Big Fines,” published online December 16, 2019.
The federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently reached a settlement with Sentara Hospitals for $2.175 million for mailing protected health information (PHI) to the wrong addresses. Initially, Sentara misreported the number of patients affected by the breach and, after a complaint was filed by an individual, OCR determined more than 500 people were impacted. Not only did Sentara underestimate the number, but after OCR informed them of their error and told them to report the difference, the healthcare provider refused.
“If you have made a good faith effort to fulfill your obligations and act promptly to correct any deficiency, you likely won’t hear from them again,” said Kim C. Stanger, a healthcare lawyer and partner at Holland & Hart LLP, based in Boise, Idaho (www.hollandhart.com). “Because the failure to report may constitute willful neglect triggering mandatory penalties, I’m leery about situations where organizations don’t report a breach unless they feel pretty confident it wasn’t a reportable breach.”
To read the full article online, click here.