The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement with South Broward Hospital District d/b/a Memorial Healthcare System (Memorial Healthcare System), a Florida health system, concerning a potential violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. The settlement resolves litigation resulting from an investigation about a complaint alleging a lack of timely access to an individual’s protected health information (PHI). The HIPAA Right of Access provisions require that individuals or their personal representatives receive timely access to their health information for a reasonable cost. OCR’s investigation determined that Memorial Healthcare System failed to provide timely access within 30 calendar days. Memorial Healthcare System has agreed to pay $60,000. The agreement marks OCR’s 52nd Right of Access enforcement action.
