On February 13, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") settled alleged HIPAA violations with a company that provided document storage and other services for health care companies. OCR's lengthy investigation began when numerous medical records—constituting unsecured protected health information—were left by company personnel at a recycling facility without any security measures or other precautions. Despite no longer being in business, the company settled with OCR for $100,000 to cover the cost of properly and securely disposing of remaining unsecured medical records in its possession.
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