“The High Cost of HIPAA Violations” is the title of a well-designed infographic dealing with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 2009. The regulations include both civil and criminal penalties that can be quite stiff. For example, the maximum penalty for a criminal violation is 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. HIPAA originated as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with the intention of protecting patients’ health information. The infographic starts by showing some well-known civil cases that involve million dollar settlements. CVS Caremark Co., for example, paid a $2.25 million fine for not implementing sufficient policies, training and procedures to protect patient health information.
A series of bar graphs shows the minimum and maximum penalties for civil HIPAA violations. For example, the maximum violation for a case due to reasonable cause without willful neglect is $50,000 per violation and $1.5 million annually for repeat violations. The infographic then displays the criminal penalties associated with HIPAA showing them in circles that grow larger as the punishment become more severe. Three examples of criminal cases illustrate that the federal government is serious about prosecuting such violations. Next is a set of pie graphs showing how many organizations were under investigation in 2011 and 2010. These graphs show the extent of activity and serve as a warming to healthcare organizations that they must take care in following HIPAA regulations. The infographic ends with a call to action asking the reader to employ HIPAA compliance training from Inspired eLearning to avoid violations. Infographic presented by Inspired eLearning, a leading provider of online HIPAA training.
