By Matt Fisher – It often seems as though a day does not go by without the report of a new breach of healthcare data. Examples of breaches include loss of unencrypted devices (whether laptops, flash drives or other devices), usage of non-secure services, inattention to paper records, employee snooping, and more.
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By Steve Spearman – In this week’s Q&A, HIPAA Chat host Steve Spearman spoke with Mike Pearson, information security expert, about the differences between penetration testing and vulnerability scanning and how these techniques can facilitate HIPAA compliance.
By Jonathan Krasner – We are all well aware of the epidemic of large data breaches that have been occurring recently. Anthem, Blue Cross, UCLA, the list goes on and on. Over 143 million records breached to date – an astounding figure! Since 2009, when the Office of Civil Rights “Wall of Shame” came into existence, there have been over 1,200 breaches of 500 records or more that have been reported.
By Steve Spearman – On July 8, 2015, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center of Brighton, Massachusetts, agreed to pay $218,400 to the Department of Health and Human Services in a HIPAA violation settlement.
By Matt Fisher – Stories appear almost everyday about medical records being improperly accessed, hacked or otherwise being stolen. The number of stories about such thefts is almost matched by the number of stories about the high value placed upon medical records by identity thieves and others.
By Matt Fisher – The increased focus on HIPAA compliance and anticipated second round of audits makes clear the necessity for an organization to develop and implement comprehensive policies and procedures. The many settlement and breach announcements demonstrate that many issues occur because individuals do not fully understand what HIPAA is or what it does. A lack of knowledge, however, can be combatted though with good training
By Andrew Hicks – Have you noticed how many vendors and software solutions are out there claiming they can make you HIPAA-compliant? Well, at the end of the day that’s simply not possible because only you can make your organization HIPAA-compliant.
By Lee Barrett – Some say there’s nothing like a little controversy to spark interest in your organization. Others say there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Call me old fashioned, but I contend, in healthcare, being featured on the Office for Civil Rights’ Wall of Shame or plastered on a news headline about a breach of personal health information (PHI) bad publicity, bad business and bad medicine.
Using a picture and visual graphics to represent data and information is called an infographic. It is a great way to display statistical data that shows comparisons or charts that come from research and reports.