HHS' Office of Civil Rights was scheduled to launch HIPAA compliance audits in the fourth quarter of 2014, but plans to do so were put on hold in September so OCR could implement a new web portal to collect and analyze the audit data.
Now, there is still no word of when HIPAA compliance audits will begin, according to Healthcare Info Security, citing a Jan. 13 media briefing led by OCR director Jocelyn Samuels.
Ms. Samuels did not offer a timeline for resuming the audits or an explanation for the delay in audits, according to the report. However, she did say business associates are eligible for audits, as they became directly liable for HIPAA as covered entities under the Omnibus Rule.
"OCR is committed to implementing an effective audit program, ad audits will be an important compliance tool for OCR," Ms. Samuels said in the briefing, adding that organizations should monitor the OCR website for upcoming program announcements.
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