A California dentist paid the HHS Office of Civil Rights $23,000 to settle claims that he disclosed protected health information about patients in response to negative Yelp reviews.
Brandon Au, DDS, of New Vision Dental in South Pasadena and Glendora, responded to reviews on the site with full names of patients when only Yelp monikers were used and brought up information about dental visits and insurance that hadn't been mentioned in the reviews, according to the resolution agreement.
"This latest enforcement action demonstrates the importance of following the law even when you are using social media," OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said in a Dec. 14 agency news release. "Providers cannot disclose protected health information of their patients when responding to negative online reviews. This is a clear NO."
In addition to the settlement, the practice also agreed to a two-year corrective action plan with OCR to ensure HIPAA compliance.
The office has a video called "The Truth About Our Yelp Score" on its website.