Latest Posts

The Unseen Threat: Guarding Against Fraudulent Health Record Requests

Published on July 25, 2025 by The HIPAA Pro

Healthcare organizations face a subtle but growing risk: fraudulent medical record requests. These deceptive appeals often mimic legitimate forms, exploiting routine workflows for unauthorized PHI disclosure. Learn how to spot these hidden threats and implement stronger safeguards. The full article includes a checklist of common red flags for fraud to help your team identify suspicious requests.

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Navigating New Notice of Privacy Practices: What Remains Enforceable

Published on July 23, 2025 by The HIPAA Pro

In April 2024, HHS finalized significant updates to the HIPAA Privacy Rule's Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP). While a recent federal court ruling vacated provisions related to reproductive health, other critical components remain in effect. Learn what changes are still required and how to ensure your organization remains compliant by the February 2026 deadline. Read More

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Historic Posts of Note

Understanding Information Blocking in Healthcare

Published on Konica Minolta's All Covered Corporate Blog: January 24, 2023 An article I authored during my tenure as a HIPAA Risk Consultant for All Covered, a division of Konica Minolta. This piece explores a critical and evolving challenge in healthcare: information blocking. Even though it was published in early 2023, its insights remain highly relevant, especially with ongoing regulatory developments in this area. Summary of the Article: Information Blocking: What is it and Why You Need to Care In the modern healthcare landscape, where electronic health records (EHRs) are central to patient care, information blocking has emerged as a significant impediment. This practice, defined as any action that prevents or discourages the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI), can severely impact patient care quality, leading to misdiagnoses, delayed treatments, duplicate tests, and increased costs. The article breaks down information blocking into four key types:
  • Legal: Barriers due to misinterpretations or overly cautious applications of laws like HIPAA.
  • Economic: Intentional withholding of data due to proprietary systems or competitive advantages.
  • Clinical: When providers withhold information based on their judgment of a patient's readiness to receive it.
  • Technical: Incompatibility between EHR systems or processes that hinder data exchange.
A major focus of the article is the federal rule prohibiting information blocking, an outcome of the 21st Century Cures Act. This rule reinforces patients' fundamental right to access their own EHI and aims to improve care coordination and reduce errors by fostering greater data liquidity. While it aligns with HIPAA's principles, it specifically targets intentional interference with EHI exchange. The article emphasizes the proactive steps healthcare facilities can take to prevent information blocking, including: Fostering open communication among caregivers. Establishing and training staff on clear communication protocols. Implementing robust systems for tracking patient information. Regularly reviewing and updating data-sharing policies. Ultimately, the piece underscores that the consequences of unchecked information blocking are severe, not only for individual patients but also for public health and medical research. Overcoming these challenges requires strong leadership commitment to transparency and collaboration, ensuring that the patient always receives the highest standard of care through unimpeded information flow.

Read the full article on Konica Minolta's Web Site »