HHS OCR breach portal (HIPAA breaches affecting 500 or more individuals) Primary notice
Posted on the HHS OCR breach portal (HIPAA breaches affecting 500 or more individuals) with a submission date of July 31, 2024.
- Organization as reported
- Deer Oaks Behavioral Health, TX
- Entity type as reported
- Healthcare Provider
- Category as reported
Hacking/IT Incident
- Location of information as reported
- Network Server
- Submission date
- July 31, 2024
- Observed by BreachRecords
- 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 9780, row:919)
- Archived copy
- Held in the private archive (provenance)
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement with Deer Oaks – The Behavioral Health Solution (Deer Oaks), a behavioral health provider, resolving potential violations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. Deer Oaks provides psychological and psychiatric services to residents of long-term care and assisted living facilities. OCR enforces the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules (the HIPAA Rules), which set forth the requirements that covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses, and most health care providers) and business associates must follow to protect the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI). The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ PHI; sets limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures of PHI; and gives individuals certain rights, including the right to timely access their health records. The HIPAA Security Rule establishes national standards to protect and secure our health care system by requiring administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and security of electronic PHI (ePHI). The Risk Analysis provision of the Security Rule requires a covered entity or business associate to conduct an accurate and thorough assessment of the potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of ePHI held by that organization. The settlement resolves an investigation that OCR initiated in May 2023 after receiving a complaint alleging that Deer Oaks impermissibly disclosed the ePHI of individuals, including patient names, dates of birth, patient identification numbers, facilities, and diagnoses, by making patient discharge summaries publicly accessible online. OCR’s investigation substantiated the allegations and verified that the ePHI was…