OCR Settles HIPAA Privacy Violation with Pennsylvania Hospital
On November 26, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced a settlement with a Pennsylvania hospital over an alleged violation of…
Read More »Former New Hampshire Medical Practice Office Manager Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud
US Attorney Jane E. Young announced that a former New Hampshire woman pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to defrauding her former employer. The defendant, 55, now residing…
Read More »Connecticut Provider to Improve Service Animal Policies After Reaching ADA Settlement
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced on November 27, 2024, that the US Attorney’s Office had reached a settlement agreement with a behavioral health…
Read More »CMS Updates Appendix Q: New Guidelines for Immediate Jeopardy in Healthcare Settings
On November 21, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released revisions to Appendix Q, which guides the identification of immediate jeopardy in healthcare settings. These updates are…
Read More »North Carolina Health Provider Receives 11-Year Sentence for Medicaid and PPP Fraud
A behavioral health services provider from Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced on November 22, 2024, to 135 months in prison for Medicaid fraud, COVID-19 fraud, and money laundering. The defendant,…
Read More »Nursing Home Vaccination Rates Lag for COVID-19, RSV, and Influenza, CDC Finds
A report published on November 21, 2024, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that as of November 10, only 30 percent of nursing home residents had…
Read More »Florida Nurse Arrested for Stealing Fentanyl from Hospital Employer
A Florida nurse was arrested on November 20 for diverting fentanyl from his hospital employer. The 35-year-old nurse, from St. Petersburg, Florida, faces charges of unlawfully acquiring or obtaining controlled…
Read More »Criminal Convictions and Settlements Mark Latest Action in Medicare Telemedicine Fraud
On November 18, 2024, the US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan announced criminal convictions and civil settlements as part of the second wave of actions against doctors involved…
Read More »OCR Fines Mental Health Center $100,000 for Delayed Access to Patient Records
On November 19, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced a $100,000 civil monetary penalty against a California mental health center….
Read More »Nursing Home Abuse and Social Media: Recent Minnesota Cases
Two recent investigations in Minnesota have revealed incidents of nursing home abuse involving social media. In both cases, employees were found to have recorded and shared videos or photos of…
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