There is a lot to know about HIPAA but let’s take a look at 6 things that you must know. HIPAA is not optional A lot of practices feel they are exempt from the HIPAA regulations. This may stem from the fact that “small practices” were granted a 1 year extension to comply with the...
Over at Healthcareinfosecurity.com there is an insightful article on the first HIPAA audits. Some highlights of the article include: In the pilot phase, OCR is auditing eight health plans, two claims clearinghouses plus 10 provider organizations, including three hospitals, three physicians’ offices, and a laboratory, a dental office, a nursing/custodial facility and a pharmacy. ...
A recent incident shows just how important it is to train all workforce members on the HIPAA regulations. Notice how I used the words workforce members and not just employees. A temporary staff member of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center recently posted patient information on Facebook. The temporary staff member also made fun of...
There is a great post over at Infosec Island regarding a letter that was received from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) after a data breach that occurred at a small medical practice. The breach was the result of a burglary. No details were given on what was stolen or what kind of patient information...
One of the questions that I get asked a lot is; What does it take to be compliant with the HIPAA Security Rule? And when I start to answer the question, inevitably the person’s eyes glaze over. So to prevent your eyes from glazing over I will give the simple answer: A lot. OK, that...
The Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has handed out over $5 million in HIPAA fines in the past 2 weeks. OCR has also stated that more HIPAA enforcement is coming. So now is a very good time to think about how you can avoid regulatory penalties and even more importantly, how...
The following blog was written a year ago but the content is still relevant today. What if organizations looked at HIPAA security as a competitive advantage and not just something that is mandatory and required by the government? In two recent surveys a clear message is being sent. The message is that patients want doctors...
There are countless security products on the market today. You can buy products from hardware firewalls, to anti-virus / anti-malware, to web content management, to email encryption, to log management platforms, the list goes on and on. All of these products have a place and help in protecting data and electronic protected health information (ePHI)....
One of the administrative requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule is to implement a security awareness and training program. And one of the implementation specifics is to implement security reminders. (5)(i) Standard: Security awareness and training. Implement a security awareness and training program for all members of its workforce (including management). (ii) Implementation specifications. Implement:...
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