Oh heck maybe I don’t know what I am talking about here but a few months ago before this made the news I thought it might
t be a good idea to take HIPAA out of the HHS silo, in other words republish the rules and laws in some format in other places. The IRS with their involvement with healthcare is new and so what do they know, right? You can read about this idea at the link below.
Time to Take HIPAA Out of the Healthcare Silo–Needs to Be Integrated In Overall Privacy Laws Healthcare Information Is All Over The Place And Privacy Efforts Will Fail Without Real Algorithmic Levels of Regulation
A lawsuit has already been filed over the alleged HIPAA violations. You know again with the IRS exploring new territory here, this could have been just some enforcement officers that have never studied HIPAA, can happen.
IRS Facing Lawsuit Over HIPAA Violations Considered a Data Breach of Ten Million Records With Unauthorized Seizure
Like everyone else I am curious to see who the unnamed healthcare provider is and the court documents were filed in San Diego which may or may not offer a clue of some sort as to who it was. Had to be big if they are claiming 60 million here, so that seems bigger than a hospital and maybe an HMO or insurance company? I guess we will have to wait and see. In other news the IRS has admitted to using social networks to check up on you as well if they feel the need. Sow what did they do with the servers? Inquiring minds want to know:)
IRS Using Facebook and Twitter as Part of Their Intelligence–Opportunities to Sell Data Continue As Private Industry and Government Cash In On Intangibles Leaving Tangibles in the Dust…
A U.S. House committee is investigating whether Internal Revenue Service agents improperly seized private medical records. The IRS is already being sued for the seizure of 60 million medical records, which is alleged to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment's Search and Seizure Clause.
In March 2011, IRS agents used a search warrant to seize the medical records from an unnamed California health care provider in its pursuit of a tax violation by a former employee of the company, according to Courthouse News Service. The suit, filed March 11, 2013, claims that the search warrant did not authorize the seizure of medical records of those who were not suspects in the case. More than 60 million medical records of more than 10 million Americans were seized, according to the complaint.
The complaint states that the records "contained intimate and private information" such as "psychological counseling, gynecological counseling, [and] sexual or drug treatment."
The suit also alleges that the IRS agents involved in the raid "threatened to 'rip' the servers containing the medical data out of the building" if the records were not handed over.
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