Today, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a civil monetary penalty of $115,200 collected against American Medical Response (AMR), a provider of emergency medical services across the United States. The civil monetary penalty was the result of an investigation based on a complaint that AMR had failed to provide a patient with timely access to their medical records. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule’s right of access provisions require that individuals or their personal representatives have timely access to their health information (within 30 days, with the possibility of one 30-day extension) and for a reasonable, cost-based fee.
