HHS’ Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation after a patient filed a complaint stating they waited nine months for access to their medical records despite submitting multiple requests via mail, phone calls and the health system’s patient portal. HIPAA regulations require healthcare providers to fulfill such requests within 30 days at a reasonable cost, according to a Jan. 15 news release.
“OCR found that Memorial Healthcare System failed to take timely action in response to the patient’s right of access requests in accordance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule,” the release stated.
Memorial Healthcare System agreed to the $60,000 settlement on Dec. 13, resolving the matter.
