Health Care: The FBI and California Attorney General are Calling
In April the FBI issued an alert to health care organizations warning that they were not as secure as they think they are. The biggest vulnerability was the perception of IT health care professionals’ …
HIPAA Guidance for Same-Sex Marriages
The HHS Office for Civil Rights has issued new guidance clarifying HIPAA and same-sex marriages as it relates to the disclosures of health information. Additional guidance is forthcoming as it relates to same-sex marriage …
September 2014 HIPAA Update
New HIPAA On-Site & Business Associate Audits Early this year the Office for Civil Rights announced that it would be conducing approximately 400 remote “desk audits” of HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates. The agency …
“Doctor, During Your Physical We Found A Lump”
5 Ways to Prevent Hidden Risks I recently visited a medical practice to conduct a Meaningful Use Security Risk Analysis. They told me their EHR patient records were being backed up offsite every 30 minutes …
Breach of 4.5 million records— More Questions Than Answers
Still, there are lessons to be learned even for small organizations Community Health Systems’ (CHS) recent data breach of 4.5 million patient records brings up several questions. All of these still need to be answered …
How a HIPAA Violation Became Malpractice
5 Myths & Facts every provider needs to know “I used HIPAA to establish the standard of care. Though it might seem a semantic distinction, it is actually quite important from a legal standpoint; I …
How a HIPAA Violation Became Malpractice
How a HIPAA Violation Became Malpractice 5 Myths & Facts Every Provider Needs to Know A 2013 $ 1.44 million malpractice verdict should get the attention of every doctor and hospital. In a suit against …
Does Your Business Associate Agreement Adequately Protect Patient Data?
Trust but Verify: Don’t Get a False Sense of Security from your Business Associates Two recent highly publicized data breaches illustrate the need for HIPAA Covered Entities to make sure their Business Associates (and other …
HIPAA Omnibus Starts 180-day Countdown to Compliance
New HIPAA Rules affect health care providers & many businesses that support them On March 23, 2013, the new HIPAA Omnibus Rules takes effect, requiring health care organizations to update their compliance programs, and making sweeping …
Turn Your HIPAA Security Rule Compliance Around
HIPAA Security Rule Can No Longer Be Ignored Health care organizations that have ignored the HIPAA Security Rule; businesses that resist compliance programs; and companies that store data but argue that they cannot access it …