California Hospitals, Clinics Hit With Millions In Fines Over Privacy Breaches
Many of the citations from the California Department of Public Health were for disclosures of protected health information that were inadvertent or involved a handful of patients.
The California Health Report:
Department Of Public Health Fines Hospitals And Clinics Millions For Patient Privacy Violations
The California Department of Public Health has issued 42 administrative penalties and $2.26 million in fines for violations of patient privacy to 24 hospitals, two clinics and two palliative care providers. The penalties were made public earlier this year but received little attention, though they were the first issued by the agency for privacy breaches since 2016. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) rarely publicizes patient privacy violations, even though they are often accompanied by fines that dwarf those for medical errors that endanger the lives of patients. Most of the incidents occurred four to five years ago. The individual fines against the hospitals and providers ranged from $2,550 to $250,000. (Shinkman, 5/7)