Elite Dental Associates has agreed to pay $10,000 to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services and to adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. Elite is a privately owned dental practice in Dallas providing general implant, and cosmetic dentistry.
On June 5, 2016, OCR received a complaint from an Elite patient alleging that the practice had responded to a social media review by disclosing the patient’s last name and details of the patient’s health condition. OCR’s investigation found that Elite had impermissibly disclosed the protected health information (PHI) of multiple patients in response to patient reviews on the Elite Yelp review page.
Additionally, OCR says, Elite did not have a policy and procedure regarding disclosures of PHI to ensure that its social media interactions protect the PHI of its patients or a notice of privacy practices that complied with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. OCR accepted a substantially reduced settlement amount in consideration of Elite’s size, financial circumstances, and cooperation with OCR’s investigation.
“Social media is not the place for providers to discuss a patient’s case,” said OCR director Roger Severino. “Doctors and dentists must think carefully about patient privacy before responding to online reviews.”
In addition to the monetary settlement, Elite will undertake a corrective action plan that includes two years of monitoring by OCR for compliance with the HIPAA Rules.
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