HHS OCR breach portal (HIPAA breaches affecting 500 or more individuals) Primary notice
Posted on the HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal with a submission date of April 5, 2019.
- Organization as reported
- Gulf Coast Pain Consultants, LLC d/b/a Clearway Pain Solutions Institute, FL
- Entity type as reported
- Healthcare Provider
- Category as reported
Unauthorized Access/Disclosure
- Location of information as reported
- Electronic Medical Record
- Submission date
- April 5, 2019
- Observed by BreachRecords
- 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 13472, row:4611)
- 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 $1.19 million civil monetary penalty against Gulf Coast Pain Consultants, LLC d/b/a Clearway Pain Solutions Institute (Gulf Coast Pain Consultants) in Florida, concerning violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule, following receipt of a breach report that a former contractor for the company had impermissibly accessed their electronic record system. OCR enforces the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules, which set forth the requirements that health plans, health care clearinghouses, and most health care providers, and their business associates must follow to protect the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI). 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, and security of electronic PHI (ePHI). “Current and former workforce can present threats to health care privacy and security—risking continuity of care and trust in our health care system,” said OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer. “Effective cybersecurity and compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule means being proactive in reviewing who has access to health information and responding quickly to suspected security incidents.” OCR initiated an investigation following the receipt of a breach report filed by Gulf Coast Pain Consultants, which reported that a former contractor had impermissibly accessed Gulf Coast’s electronic medical record system to retrieve PHI for use in potential fraudulent Medicare claims. OCR’s investigation determined that the impermissible access occurred on three occasions, affecting approximately 34,310 individuals. The compromised PHI included patient names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, Social Security…