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Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
Practical Law Glossary Item w-031-0163 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
A component of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that is responsible for enforcing the administrative simplification rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). These HIPAA rules include the federal standards governing:
- The privacy of individually identifiable health information (IIHI) under the HIPAA Privacy Rule (see Practice Note, HIPAA Privacy Rule).
- The security of electronic IIHI under the HIPAA Security Rule (see Practice Note, HIPAA Security Rule).
- Notification regarding breaches of unsecured protected health information (PHI) under the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule (see Practice Note, HIPAA Breach Notification Rules).
Through OCR, HHS is authorized to conduct compliance reviews and investigations of complaints alleging violations of the HIPAA rules by covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs). In addition, CEs and BAs must cooperate with HHS/OCR compliance reviews and investigations.
OCR also is responsible for enforcing federal civil rights, conscience, and religious freedom laws.
For more information, see the OCR website and the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Toolkit.