The Federal government is not being shy or covert about the increase in HIPAA enforcement that is about to occur. Covered Entities (Physician Practices and Hospitals) as well as Business Associates (Contractors and Subcontractors of Covered Entities) should have no doubt that compliance with HIPAA is no longer an optional activity. There is no way...
In a previous blog we discussed the new HIPAA Omnibus regulations as they related to Business Associates (BA). Let’s take a look at the HIPAA Omnibus regulations for Business Associates as they relate to Covered Entities (CE). Business Associates Agreements CEs have been required to have Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with BAs for quite a...
There is lots of buzz about the changes to Business Associates under the new HIPAA Omnibus Rule. Let’s take a look at some of the items that both Covered Entities (CE) and Business Associates (BA) should know about the new HIPAA changes. Who are Business Associates? The definition of Business Associates for the most part...
If you work in a healthcare organization and you have a laptop it should be encrypted. We have heard many discussions about why a laptop does not need to be encrypted. Some of the reasons include; it doesn’t contain patient information or it never leaves the office or it never leaves our employee’s possession. Laptops...
Gienna Shaw over at FierceHealthIT has an entertaining article on some to the strangest security breaches in 2012. Here are her “highlights” of 2012. 1.) EMR held ransom (We also discussed another EMR ransom case here) In the Lake County case, an unauthorized remote user posted a message on the practice’s server stating that its...
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has fined the Hospice of North Idaho (HONI) $50,000 for a breach resulting from a stolen laptop. What makes this unique is it represents the first time an organization has been fined for a breach of less than 500 patients. We will take a look at the details...
The most dangerous HIPAA action you can do is very simple: DO NOTHING You may be under a false sense of security because none of these events have happened to your organizations: You haven’t had a HIPAA breach You haven’t received a HIPAA fine You didn’t need to use a Security Incident Response Plan You...
Leon Rodriguez, director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently conducted an interview with HealthcareInfoSecurity. Click on the link to listen to the full interview. Rodriguez gave some valuable insight into OCR’s plans for 2013 and beyond as well as guidance that organizations should follow to protect...
Dom Nicastro over at HCPro gives insight into the status of the OCR audit program for 2013. Top OCR officials have made it clear the audit program will continue next year, says Mac McMillan, FHIMSS, CISM, cofounder and CEO of CynergisTek, Inc., in Austin, Texas. There will be more audits going forward; HITECH requires them,...
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is criticizing CMS’ oversight of the Meaningful Use incentive program. They worry that CMS might be paying organizations who do not qualify for Meaningful Use incentives. This study is an early assessment of CMS’s oversight of the Medicare electronic health record (EHR) incentive program, for which CMS estimates it...
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