Design changes to the Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) website at www.hhs.gov/ocr may make it easier for health care providers, health plans, health care clearinghouses, their business associates (“Covered Entities”), patients and others to use the website to find and use the extensive guidance, tools, enforcement and other data and other resources the website provides on the Privacy, Security, Breach Notification and other Rules of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), various health industry Medicare, Medicaid and other Civil Rights rules, and other laws and activities of the via OCR’s website.
In announcing its launch of the redesigned website yesterday (January 6, 2015) OCR touted the website redesign as providing “more responsive, user-friendly” website. In OCR’s announcement of the redesigned website launch, Jocelyn Samuels, OCR’s Director, is quoted as saying “The new features and capabilities of the website will help visitors quickly and easily find the information they are looking for. We are committed to providing the most useful tools as possible for our audiences and this new site will help us in achieving this goal.”
As redesigned, the website:
- Categorizes information and resources by “Individuals”, “Professionals” and “Providers” for easier, quicker access to the most useful content.
- Uses a “[p]owerful search functionality to display OCR-specific information and resources prominently at the top of search results listings and offerlinks to related content posted on other U.S Department of Health and Human Services websites.
- Facilitates access to “[m]ost requested information by displaying links in the prominently displayed in “I would like info on…” box located on the main homepages for Civil Rights and Health Information Privacy as well as offers content organized by topic and accessible through the navigation.
- Is built on a mobile-first platform to optimize access on cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices.
- Simplifies and redefines site navigation and content lay out on the webpages .are simplified and refined.
The following are some key quick links for finding and navigating the website:
- To access the main OCR website, go to www.hhs.gov/ocr.
- To access Civil Rights information, go to www.hhs.gov/civil-rights.
- To access Health Information Privacy information, go to www.hhs.gov/hipaa.
OCR is the first division within HHS to launch a newly designed website as part of the “Reimagined HHS.gov” project. Look for changes from other HHS agency websites as the project progresses.
For More Information Or Assistance
If you need assistance reviewing or responding to these or other health care related risk management, compliance, enforcement or management concerns, the author of this update, attorney Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, may be able to help. Vice President of the North Texas Health Care Compliance Professionals Association, Past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section, Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law, and the former Board Compliance Chair of the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas, Ms. Stamer has more than 27 years’ experience advising health industry clients about these and other matters. Her experience includes advising hospitals, nursing home, home health, rehabilitation and other health care providers and health industry clients to establish and administer compliance and risk management policies; prevent, conduct and investigate, and respond to peer review and other quality concerns; and to respond to Board of Medicine, Department of Aging & Disability, Drug Enforcement Agency, OCR Privacy and Civil Rights, Department of Labor, IRS, HHS, DOD and other health care industry investigation, enforcement and other compliance, public policy, regulatory, staffing, and other operations and risk management concerns. The scribe for the American Bar Association (ABA) Joint Committee on Employee Benefits annual agency meeting with the Department of Health & Human Services Office of Civil Rights, Ms. Stamer has worked extensively with health care providers, health plans, health care clearinghouses, their business associates, employers, banks and other financial institutions, and others on risk management and compliance with HIPAA and other information privacy and data security rules, investigating and responding to known or suspected breaches, defending investigations or other actions by plaintiffs, OCR and other federal or state agencies, reporting known or suspected violations, business associate and other contracting, commenting or obtaining other clarification of guidance, training and enforcement, and a host of other related concerns. Her clients include public and private health care providers, health insurers, health plans, technology and other vendors, and others. In addition to representing and advising these organizations, she also has conducted training on Privacy & The Pandemic for the Association of State & Territorial Health Plans, as well as HIPAA, FACTA, PCI, medical confidentiality, insurance confidentiality and other privacy and data security compliance and risk management for Los Angeles County Health Department, ISSA, HIMMS, the ABA, SHRM, schools, medical societies, government and private health care and health plan organizations, their business associates, trade associations and others.
A popular lecturer and widely published author on health industry concerns, Ms. Stamer continuously advises health industry clients about compliance and internal controls, workforce and medical staff performance, quality, governance, reimbursement, and other risk management and operational matters. Ms. Stamer also publishes and speaks extensively on health and managed care industry regulatory, staffing and human resources, compensation and benefits, technology, public policy, reimbursement and other operations and risk management concerns. Her insights on these and other related matters appear in the Health Care Compliance Association, Atlantic Information Service, Bureau of National Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insurance, the Dallas Morning News, Modern Health Care, Managed Healthcare, Health Leaders, and a many other national and local publications. You can get more information about her health industry experience here. If you need assistance responding to concerns about the matters discussed in this publication or other health care concerns, wish to obtain information about arranging for training or presentations by Ms. Stamer, wish to suggest a topic for a future program or update, or wish to request other information or materials, please contact Ms. Stamer via telephone at (214) 452-8297 or via e-mail here.
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