By now many people have heard of the HHS Wall of Shame. The Wall of Shame refers to the list of organizations that have had a breach affecting 500 or more individuals. The list includes the name of the organization, the date of the breach, the approximate number of individuals affected, the type of breach...
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) was handed a $1.7 million fine by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The fine is one of the largest imposed on an organization. A closer look reveals why the fine was so large. Healthcare Info Security gives an in-depth look at the fine. The Alaska...
We have written about the $100,000 HIPAA fine that was handed down to Phoenix Cardiac Surgery. There is a very good article at AISHealth that details the case and provides some good insight by industry professionals. One quote by well respected HIPAA attorney Jeff Drummond really sheds light on what happens when you ignore compliance...
There should be no doubt that we are witnessing a changing landscape for healthcare IT. As the government gives billions of dollars in incentives to hospitals and medical practices to implement electronic health records the repercussions are being heard around the country. Medical practices are going from low-tech businesses that focused on paper charts and very little...
We have written about the HIPAA fine and reputation damage to Phoenix Cardiac Surgery. Phoenix Cardiac Surgery is a small 5 physician specialist in Phoenix, AZ. Let’s quickly review why the Office of Civil Rights fined Phoenix Cardiac Surgery $100,000. Lack of HIPAA Policies and Procedures Lack of HIPAA training for all workforce members Lack...
The Phoenix Cardiac Surgery medical practice was handed a $100,000 fine for failing to protect patient information. The resulting resolution agreement from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is very interesting. Let’s take a look at is. The full resolution agreement can be found here (PDF). Lack of training for employees (a) From April 14,...
There has been a lot written recently about organizations that have received high profile HIPAA fines from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The Tennessee Blue Cross Blue Shield was handed a $1.5 million fine, Cignet Health was given a $4.3 million fine and Massachusetts General Hospital was awarded a $1 million fine. The only...
Part of the proposed requirements for Meaningful Use Stage 2 addresses encrypting data at rest. Let’s take a look at the exact wording conduct or review a security risk analysis in according with the requirements under 45 CFR 164.308(a)(1), including addressing the encryption/security of data at rest in accordance with requirements under 45 CFR 164.312(a)(2)(iv)...
Many people ask us what is needed for an Incident Response Plan (IRP). It seems to be one of the HIPAA requirements that people have a hard time putting their arms around. So let’s take a practical look at what is needed. Incidents will happen The first thing that must be accepted and understood is...
In an interview with Howard Anderson over at healthcareinfosecurity.com, OCR’s Leon Rodriguez gives some interesting insight into OCR’s audit program. Some are some highlights of the interview: Due to funding cuts and capacity of KPMG, the firm hired to conduct the audits, the agency may come up short of the 150 planned audits OCR funding...
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