5 Vital Plans Every Covered Entity and Business Associate Should Have in Place With cyberattacks and data breaches on the rise in healthcare, safeguarding sensitive information has become paramount for organizations. For covered entities and business associates, proactivity is key to maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of data. Here are five essential plans that every...
Remember ransomware, the malicious software that blocks computer access until a ransom demand is paid? The threat was huge and dominated headlines in the past but seems to have slowed down in recent months. Could the decline in publications citing ransomware as the cause of a data breach or loss of data indicate that...
First it was Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center that made headlines when ransomware disabled the hospital’s computer network. Now another California healthcare organization has become a victim. Los Angeles County Department of Health Services is the latest large healthcare organization to experience the pain of ransomware. According to the Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles County Department...
Ransomware that crippled Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital made national headlines but ransomware continues to be a major menace for small to midsize businesses. A print shop in Lubbock, Texas was shut down last week due to ransomware. An employee opened an infected file and ransomware took control of the network. Click below to watch the video...
When it comes to complying with the HIPAA Security and Omnibus Rules, there is a lot of confusion as to what needs to be done. And if you look at the amount of work it can be overwhelming; security risk assessment, employee training, policies and procedures, business associates, breach notification, encryption, disaster recovery to name...
There is a very good article over at HealthData Management called Want to Impress OCR During a HIPAA Audit? Write a Book The author discusses the benefits of creating a “Book of Evidence” that your organization is in HIPAA compliance if you were to get audited by the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Creating...
The Harvard Business Review has an excellent article on how some Boston companies handled the Boston metro lockdown situation. The article points out that proper planning for emergencies is the best way to prepare in the event of a real emergency. The Cambridge-based company, HubSpot, had an emergency operations plan in place and executed the...
As we mentioned here and here, the HIPAA Omnibus Rule has a significant impact on HIPAA Business Associates. There is some debate over exactly who is a Business Associate regarding Cloud Providers. One thing that seems clear is, if you are storing protected health information (PHI) unencrypted at a Cloud Provider, the Cloud Provider most...
Leon Rodriguez, director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently conducted an interview with HealthcareInfoSecurity. Click on the link to listen to the full interview. Rodriguez gave some valuable insight into OCR’s plans for 2013 and beyond as well as guidance that organizations should follow to protect...
When people think of the HIPAA Security Rule many think about protecting the privacy / confidentiality of patient information. Privacy is a major part of HIPAA security but also ensuring the availability of patient information is equally important. Let’s take a look at the HIPAA Security General Rules: § 164.306 Security standards: General rules. (a)...
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