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GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE

Penalty for breaking HIPAA law

Quick View. Sept. 20, 2004.

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Willful and deliberate violations of the federal medical records privacy rule carry stiff criminal penalties.

Last month's conviction of Richard W. Gibson of SeaTac, Wash. -- the first in the country involving a breach of the privacy portion of the HIPAA act -- is a reminder of that fact. The regulation, part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, went into effect in April of last year. Gibson admitted that, while he worked at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, he used a patient's personal information to get four credit cards on which he charged more than $9,000.

This information and the accompanying full-text visual aids were drawn from the following source:

URAC.

[...]
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