As a physician, you come in contact with a very large amount of sensitive and private information on a daily basis. To protect this information, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requires all physicians to keep patient information confidential without specific patient permission to disclose health records or medical conditions with additional parties. If you are a medical professional who is being accused of violating HIPAA laws, your practice may be in jeopardy. This is why you cannot wait any longer to hire an attorney who will aggressively fight for your right to practice. If you find yourself in this situation, here are some of the questions you may have:
How does HIPAA law work?
The United States Department of Health and Human Services uses an Officer for Civil Rights to ensure HIPAA laws are being followed accordingly. The Officer for Civil Rights has the authority to investigate complaints, conduct compliance reviews, and educate providers regarding HIPAA rules and how to follow them as they are written. Violating HIPAA law can be detrimental to any professional’s medical career, so it is very important you conduct your practice in accordance with the law, at all times.
What happens if a physician is caught violating HIPAA?
As mentioned above, HIPAA law is crucial in ensuring patients and their information are protected under the law. This is why if you are caught violating HIPAA, you may face the following penalties:
- If you admit you committed an offense against HIPAA, though you can prove that you did not realize you were doing so, you may face a $100-$50,000 fine, depending on the severity of what you are convicted of doing.
- If you admit to violating HIPAA law, but believe and can prove that you had a reasonable cause for doing so, you will most likely face a $1,000-$5,000 fine for your actions.
- Those convicted of willfully neglecting HIPAA law at one time, though have since corrected their offense, are looking at a fine ranging anywhere from $10,000-$50,000.
- Those who have knowingly violated HIPAA law more than one time in the same year may face a $1.5 million fine. Rather obviously, this is enough to put any physician out of business, so if you are being hit with a fine of this magnitude, you must contact an experienced attorney as soon as you can.
Contact our experienced New York firm
When a medical professional is accused of misconduct, they must retain strong legal representation. If you require a medical law attorney for your legal matters, call Paul E. Walker, an experienced New York City OPMC & OPD Lawyer. Please contact the Walker Medical Law firm to set up a free initial consultation.
