Although risk assessment continues to be a priority in health care organizations, there are several breaches occurring in small health organizations that have resulted in hefty penalties. Privacy protection is a growing concern and despite stringent laws governing data security, medical institutions are experiencing challenges in safeguarding patient information. The lack of a current and thorough…
A number of data breaches have been reported in the recent past, and every breach incident has a lesson to teach organizations that do not take HIPAA compliance seriously. This holds true even with the recent breach involving the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS). The investigation in this case was triggered by…
It was Alaska DHSS first, and now the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary suffering a big consequence for a relatively small breach. The organization has agreed to pay a hefty penalty of $1.5 million for HIPAA violations identified during OCR’s investigation of the theft of an unencrypted laptop which occurred in 2010. This Boston-based teaching…
The provisions of the two final rules of Stage 2 of Meaningful Use released last week have attracted significant attention, especially the rule demanding retention of patient engagement obligations. However, what is more striking is how these two final rules are intertwined with the privacy and security requirements of HIPAA, although many commenters on the…
Data breach incidents seem to be on the rise despite rigid security regulations and stringent legal action against non-compliant entities. There have been 489 breaches affecting 21 million individuals in total since September 2009. Twenty-five incidents of breach affecting 215,000 individuals have been added to the Federal Tally of Major Healthcare Information Breaches over the…
Hackers find yet another way to makequick money. Once they have managed to get hold of your health records by hacking into your system, they encrypt them and hold them for a ransom. With more and more health records going digital, this shocking trend has put healthcare entities on high alert once again. A small…
Have you attested to ‘meaningful use’ of EHR? If so, here’s some important news for you: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have hired a New York based accounting firm, Figliozzi & Company to carry out audits to determine compliance with ‘meaningful use’. Hospitals and physician practices which have qualified for Medicare EHR…
WASHINGTON – Cyber attacks represent “probably the single largest threat” facing the United States, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said Monday. Speaking during a Washington briefing held by The Week magazine and Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd., Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. – author of a cyber security bill that has passed…
The initial 20 HIPAA audits have brought significant details to light. It was found that HIPAA had not been a priority to some organizations for several years. The audits revealed that companies have not been conducting risk assessments on a regular basis. The audits being coordinated by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office…
Several LinkedIn members were up for a shock on June 6th when their account passwords were ‘no longer valid’. LinkedIn confirmed a breach of its network which led to the compromise of hashed passwords associated with LinkedIn accounts. Although there is no confirmation as to the number of passwords that have been affected, several reports…
