Rodriguez to vacate OCR director post
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) soon will have an opening in its top spot.
Leon Rodriguez will leave his post as director for a new position as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director at Homeland Security. The new role is subject to a Senate confirmation, however. Rodriguez has been OCR director since September 2011, serving as lead enforcer for patient privacy rights as laid out in the HIPAA law.
Rodriguez said at an event last fall that for 10 years of his life, he represented covered entities, which really helped him take a balanced approach to enforcement.
On Sept. 23--the same day that the HIPAA Final Rule on Privacy & Security became effective--Rodriguez spoke at the HIMSS Privacy and Security Forum. He said his agency was working to balance effective enforcement and clearly communicate the rules surrounding patient privacy and security.
No word yet on who will become the new OCR director.
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.