![]() ![]() While it is permissible to delay reporting of a breach to the HHS for breaches impacting fewer than 500 individuals (see below), that delay does not apply to notifications to breach victims. Breach notifications are also required for any individual who is reasonably believed to have been affected by the breach.īreach notification letters must be sent within 60 days of the discovery of a breach unless a shorter breach notification timeframe exists under state law or a request to delay notifications has been made by law enforcement. In the event of a reportable HIPAA breach being experienced, the HIPAA breach notification requirements are: Notify Individuals Impacted – or Potentially Impacted – by the BreachĪll individuals impacted by a data breach, who have had unsecured protected health information accessed, acquired, used, or disclosed, must be notified of the breach. Exceptions include: Breaches of secured protected health information such as encrypted data when the key to unlock the encryption has not been obtained “any unintentional acquisition, access, or use of protected health information by a workforce member or person acting under the authority of a covered entity or a business associate, if such acquisition, access, or use was made in good faith and within the scope of authority and does not result in further use or disclosure ” An inadvertent disclosure by a person who is authorized to access PHI, to another member of the workforce at the organization who is also authorized to access PHI When the covered entity or business associate makes a disclosure and has a good faith belief that the information could not have been retained by the person to whom it was disclosed. HIPAA breaches include unauthorized access by employees as well as third parties, improper disclosures, the exposure of protected health information, and ransomware attacks. The extent to which the risk to the protected health information has been mitigated.Whether the protected health information was actually acquired or viewed and.The unauthorized person who used the protected health information or to whom the disclosure was made.The nature and extent of the protected health information involved, including the types of identifiers and the likelihood of re-identification.A breach is defined as the acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of unsecured protected health information in a manner not permitted by HIPAA Rules.Īccording to the HHS´ guidance on the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, an impermissible use or disclosure of unsecured protected health information is presumed to be a breach unless the covered entity or business associate demonstrates there is a low probability the protected health information has been compromised based on a risk assessment of at least the following factors: The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule – 45 CFR §§ 164.400-414 – requires covered entities to report breaches of unsecured electronic protected health information and physical copies of protected health information. Summary of the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule ![]() With this in mind, we have compiled a summary of the HIPAA breach notification requirements for covered entities and business associates. The failure to comply with HIPAA breach notification requirements can result in a significant financial penalty in additional to that impose for the data breach itself. The issuing of notifications following a breach of unencrypted PHI is an important element of HIPAA compliance. Business associates that have only just started providing a service to Covered Entities may similarly be unsure of the reporting requirements and actions that must be taken following a breach. While most HIPAA covered entities should understand the HIPAA breach notification requirements, organizations that have yet to experience a data breach may not have a good working knowledge of the requirements of the Breach Notification Rule. Additionally, the organization must develop a breach response plan that can be implemented as soon as a breach of unsecured PHI is discovered. The HIPAA breach notification requirements are important to know if an organization creates, receives, maintains, or transmits Protected Health Information (PHI). ![]() What are the HIPAA Breach Notification Requirements?
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