HHS Issues Another Settlement on Patient Access to Records
Healthcare Info Security
Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
Federal regulators have issued their 13th HIPAA settlement tied to failing to give a patient access to their records.
The $36,000 settlement and corrective action plan with Peter Wrobel, M.D., a vein specialist at Waycross, Georgia-based Elite Primary Care, was announced Tuesday by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights.
"Healthcare providers, large and small, must ensure that individuals get timely access to their health records, and for a reasonable cost-based fee," says OCR Director Roger Severino.
Tardy Response
OCR says it received a complaint in April 2019 alleging that Elite Primary Care failed to respond to a patient's request for access to his medical records. In May 2019, OCR provided technical assistance to Elite on the HIPAA right of access requirements and closed the complaint.
But in October 2019...