HIPAA facts & stats

Question 1

Between 2003 and 2013, how many HIPAA complaints did federal regulators receive?

Accepted Answer

about 91,000 complaints. That's the total received by the HHS Office for Civil Rights over its first decade enforcing HIPAA.

Question 2

By 2013, how many HIPAA cases had been referred to the Department of Justice as potential criminal actions?

Accepted Answer

521 cases. Criminal referrals are a small fraction of total HIPAA complaints, most of which are handled civilly.

Question 3

The largest single HIPAA data breach on record, at Tricare Management of Virginia, affected how many people?

Accepted Answer

4.9 million people. The 2011 breach involved backup tapes that went missing.

Question 4

In 2010, Cignet Health of Maryland paid a major HIPAA fine. How much was it?

Accepted Answer

$4.3 million. The fine stemmed from Cignet's failure to give patients access to their own medical records.

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