Business Associates: How To Prevent A $750,000 Compliance Violation

Recently, Raleigh Orthopedic Clinic, a provider group practice that operates clinics and an orthopedic surgery center in Raleigh, North Carolina, settled with OCR for $750,000 after a compliance violation where the PHI of 17, 300 individuals were disclosed. They also entered into a corrective action plan (CAP) with significant requirements for an additional two years.

Download our free eBrief, "The Dangers of Not Properly Managing Your Business Associates," and learn how to use Raleigh’s Corrective Action Plan to avoid dangers in your own organization and implement a better system for managing business associates.

According to a resolution agreement with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Raleigh Orthopedic Clinic entered into a verbal agreement with a third-party vendor to harvest the silver from its practice’s radiology films in exchange for transferring the x-rays into electronic media. Unfortunately, the clinic turned over all the films, which contained PHI, before first obtaining satisfactory assurances in the form of a written business associate agreement.

As we all know, a HIPAA-covered entity can’t disclose PHI without authorization. In this case, the lack of a business associate agreement left this information unprotected, rendering it potentially vulnerable to fraudulent use or improper disclosure.

A better system for managing business associates is the best place to start for preventing this sort of thing from happening to your organization. If your organization isn’t taking the necessary preventative measures, you’re at risk of facing the same or worse consequences. Luckily, we can all learn from their mishaps. Raleigh’s corrective action plan gives us insight into some of the expectations of covered entities as it relates to their business associates.

Download our free eBrief, "The Dangers of Not Properly Managing Your Business Associates," and learn how to use Raleigh’s Corrective Action Plan to avoid dangers in your own organization and implement a better system for managing business associates.