The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights announced a USD240,000 settlement with Washington-based Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital over alleged Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations. The OCR claimed security guards at the hospital accessed medical records of 419 patients. OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said such impermissible access is "a recurring issue across the healthcare industry" and entities "must ensure that workforce members can only access the patient information needed to do their jobs."