Healthcare providers may feel more pressure of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act enforcement in states like Rhode Island and Alaska, according to data compiled by TrueVault, a HIPAA compliance company.

From 2003 to 2013, Rhode Island emerges as the top enforcer of HIPAA violations and is the only state in which more than 40% of violations result in corrective action.

Other top enforcers were listed as Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and New Hampshire. Corrective action resulted between 30% and 40% of HIPAA violations in those states, the report said.  

States with the lowest enforcement results were Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, where less than 20% of violations resulted in corrective action.

A Corrective Action Plan can be part of a plan post-HIPAA violation to implement policies and procedures to safeguard privacy of patients or residents, such as increased training and monitoring.

It is believed that the federal government will be ramping up HIPAA enforcement, according to comments made by a Department of Health and Human Services official last month.

To see the rest of the report, click here.