Texas Accident & Injury News
Data breach incidents can affect hundreds of thousands of people at a time, depending on the size of the organization.
CentroMed Sued Over Data Breach Affecting 350,000 People
According to a San Antonio Express-News report¹, CentroMed is being sued by two separate women over a data breach incident that affected an estimated 350,000 people in June 2023.
According to the complaints followed by both women, CentroMed violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act with this data breach. The healthcare provider learned about the data breach that happened on June 9 on June 12 but didn’t start alerting those effected until August 11. One woman is seeking over 1 million in damages, and the other is seeking more than 5 million in damages.
Did You Know?
The average cost of a data breach was 4.35 million dollars in 2022 globally.
Know Your Rights — HIPAA
A study from 2012 found that almost half of Americans had never seen their health records². One of the ways to improve this number was putting health information online so that patients could easily access it. But that obviously comes with risks, which is why the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is important for you to understand.
The following information is a brief overview of what is found on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website³, where you can go to find more information.
What Does HIPAA Protect?
HIPAA is a federal law that protects your sensitive health information by any entity that is subject to it. This includes important medical documents, like:
- Billing information.
- Conversations had with your healthcare providers about care or treatment.
- Information put in your medical records.
- Most other health information in possession of those who must follow this law.
How Does HIPAA Protect This Information?
For those people or practices who are subject to this law, HIPAA requires:
- Safeguards on your information that ensure it isn’t stolen or improperly used.
- Limits to use your sensitive information only when reasonably necessary.
- Training programs to educate employees on how to protect your information.
Who is Subject to HIPAA?
Not everyone has to follow HIPAA laws. Those who are subject to HIPAA include:
- Health Care Providers — that conduct any business electronically (which is most health care providers).
- Contractors or Subcontractors — that are associated with any covered entity.
- Health Plans — including company health plans, health insurance companies, and Medicare or Medicaid.
- Health Care Clearinghouses — that process non-standard medical information from another entity.
Who Can Find Your Health Information
There is a rule called the Privacy Rule that limits who can see or receive your health information. Those entities include:
- Family, relatives, or anyone else you identify who is a part of your health care plan. You can object to specific people in this group if you want.
- Protecting public health or making required reports like reporting the flu or gunshot wounds to the police
- Reporting nursing homes
- To pay doctors
- For your treatment care and coordination (doctors talking to other doctors about your treatment)
You have the right to a report of those entities who have viewed your health information.
Have an Important Legal Question?
The Carabin Shaw law firm, based in San Antonio, Texas, helps individuals who have been injured or lost a loved one in an accident. If you have an important question about your rights after an injury, or if you think you have grounds for a case against a negligent party, contact our firm today. You can reach us at 800-862-1260 or use the live chat at the bottom right of your screen for a free legal consultation. We value your privacy — these consultations are confidential.
¹San Antonio Express-News Report