Prior to the holiday, the OCR settled its thirteenth enforcement action under the HIPAA Right of Access Initiative, which involved a primary care physician practicing in the State of Georgia. Dr. Peter Wrobel, M.D., P.C., operating under the fictitious name of Elite Primary Care, became subject to an OCR investigation (twice) for his alleged violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
In 2019, the OCR received a complaint stating that Elite Primary Care failed to provide a patient timely access to his medical records. The OCR assisted Elite Primary Care by providing technical assistance, which ultimately led to the OCR closing the complaint. Just a few months later, the OCR received a second complaint from the same patient stating he still did not receive his medical records. As a result, Dr. Wrobel must pay a Resolution Amount of $36,000.00 and implement a two year Corrective Action Plan following the OCR’s second investigation.
Again, yet another single patient complaint leads to a substantial penalty under the Right of Access Initiative. Although not specifically stated within the Corrective Action Plan, the steep Resolution Amount seems like a by-product of the OCR’s frustration with providing technical assistance and receiving a second complaint involving the same patient and issue. For the entire press release, please click here.
Additionally, for more information on past enforcement actions under the HIPAA Right of Access Initiative, please click here.