HIPAA violations cost county $215K

Skagit County in Washington will pay the Department of Health and Human Services $215,000 after deficiencies in its HIPAA compliance program were found. The investigation revealed that 1,581 individuals’ protected health information had been exposed, with many files containing sensitive information about infectious diseases. This settlement is the first of its kind with a county government and highlights the importance of HIPAA compliance for all local and county governments. Skagit County will now work with OCR to implement a corrective action plan to improve their compliance.