Health IT, HIPAA, and the CMS Incentive Programs Blog
For physicians, hospitals, government agencies, and business associatesState Attorney General HIPAA Training Revealed; OCR Retains Big Hammer
The HITECH Act extended HIPAA enforcement authority to State Attorney Generals. As part of a cooperative enforcement effort, last year the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) provided all expense paid training to the staff of the AGs. Yesterday, OCR posted the contents...
Small Physician Practice Settles HIPAA Complaint for $100,000
Phoenix Cardiac Surgery, PC, a small physician practice, settled a HIPAA privacy and security complaint for $100,000 and agreed to a Corrective Action Plan. The settlement agreement (in which the practice does not admit liability) is the culmination of an...
Risk Analysis – Probability of Smartphone loss/theft
In this latest installment about risk analysis we continue the difficult quest to quantify risk of data breach. Hospitals and physician practices are conducting computer security risk analyses for HIPAA compliance and for meaningful use (per HIPAA Security 45 CFR...
Risk Analysis – Quantifying Risk and Impact – Part 2
Hospitals and physician practices conducting computer security risk analyses for HIPAA compliance and for meaningful use (per HIPAA Security 45 CFR 164.308(a)(1)) must assess the threats and likelihood of occurrence. Because most breaches are never reported, accurate...
A Tale of Two Presidents – Lessons for ACOs
OK, Dick Cheney wasn't president but was a heartbeat away. Both Dick Cheney and another former leader, Bill Clinton, have been in the news recently as a result of their heart conditions. Their previous histories of heart treatments have been widely reported in the...
Risk Assessment: Quantifying Risk and Impact
HIPAA Covered entities, including hospitals and physicians who are implementing electronic records with hopes of attaining Meaningful Use and qualifying for federal incentives, are performing a computer security risk analysis, or risk assessment. Conducting regular...
Risk Assessment: Forget the PHI, they want your money
(Editor's note, December 2015: while the information in this post remains relevant, 2015 could be called the year of the health care breach. During 2015 alone, approximately 1 out of every 3 Americans had some of their health care data stolen. New threats and...
Securing your Home Wi-Fi Network
Virtually everyone has a home wi-fi network. It provides convenient access for laptops, smartphones, tablets and gaming devices. How do you protect yourself? Administration Account. The first step is to secure the administration account for your wireless router or...
