Privacy and security insights.
Practical guidance on privacy, security, and compliance, including HIPAA, NYDFS, DOL, Ohio public sector requirements, and the threats regulated organizations face, from the consultants who assess and audit them.
From the Eagle blog
CMS Releases MIPS Preliminary Scores
Preliminary MIPS scores have been released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. While this information is useful, it is important to note that these are...
MyFitnessPal Data Breach
MyFitnessPal, a fitness app with 150 million users, experienced a large data breach in February. Use of obsolete hashing algorithms put users at risk.
Allied Physicians Among SamSam’s Latest Victims
Allied Physicians, a 40-physician practice in South Bend, Indiana, was attacked by a particular strain of ransomware called SamSam. Allied Physicians discovered the...
Was County Agency Employee’s Facebook Post a HIPAA Violation?
A Roane County, Tennessee, EMS responder posted on her Facebook page, “well, we had a first…We worked a code in a chicken coop! Knee deep in chicken droppings.”...
Cyber-Attacks on Healthcare on the Rise
Cyber-attacks on healthcare providers increased from 2016 to 2017, and are still trending upwards. Extensive private data plus inadequate security makes healthcare organizations attractive targets for attackers and, all too often, victims of their own errors.
Urgent Threat: VPNFilter Malware Affects Hundreds of Thousands of Internet Routers
VPNFilter malware infected over 500k routers to intercept internet traffic, steal passwords, pass malware onto your network, and create botnets.
MIPS Strategy: Topped Out Measures
During 2018, CMS has classified six of the MIPS quality measures “topped out” which makes achieving a high final score a bit tougher. In subsequent years, more measures will become topped out so providers will need to identify new measures in order to achieve the same MIPS final score.
MIPS: Small Practices May Claim a “Promoting Interoperability” (ACI) Exception
New for MIPS in 2018 is the “Significant Hardship Exception” for small practices, which exempts them from the “Promoting Interoperability” category. While claiming the exception will reduce cost and labor, practices should do a breakeven analysis to determine if it is profitable to complete the PI category.
“Meaningful Use” and “Advancing Care Information” renamed “Promoting Interoperability”
CMS has renamed its various EHR incentive programs to “Promoting Interoperability”. The Meaningful Use and Advancing Care Information names will be dropped.
HIPAA Policy Templates for Business Associates Help You Avoid Fines
HIPAA Business Associates have experienced HIPAA breach fines in the millions of dollars. Eagle Consulting offers HIPAA Policy Templates specifically tailored to different types of Business Associates, including cloud computing vendors, IT managed services companies, and third-party administrators.
Ohio DD Boards – Confidentiality Contracts with PT, OT and ST Independent Contractors
Ohio DD Boards are responsible for ensuring confidentiality when working with third parties. The appropriate method varies depending on whether a 3rd party provider is HIPAA Covered Entity or not. Eagle offers a model confidentiality agreement for contract providers who are not HIPAA Covered Entities.
Kansas Dept. for Aging and Disability Services Employees Fired Over Email Containing PHI
2 Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services employees were terminated after sending an email containing PHI of 11,000 individuals to improper recipients.
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