Tag: HIPAA regulations

April 15, 2019

The federal agency responsible for regulations governing standardization of electronic transactions and data accessibility for consumers is ramping up adherence efforts. The Department of Health and Human Services is launched a pilot auditing program, starting with health plans and claims […]

January 3, 2019

By leveraging machine learning algorithms, it is possible to re-identify physical activity data collected from wearable devices from which protected health information has been removed. That’s the contention of Anil Aswani, assistant professor in industrial engineering and operations research at […]

September 14, 2018

With Hurricane Florence making landfall, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has waived sanctions and penalties under certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. While the HIPAA Privacy Rule is not suspended during a public health or other emergency, […]

January 3, 2018

Having twice unknowingly had patient information stolen in 2015, 21st Century Oncology, a large organization with 143 treatment centers in 17 states, has reached agreement with the HHS Office for Civil Rights on a corrective action plan to comply with […]

October 26, 2017

While there are federal regulations governing how personal health data is shared, only a fraction of the increasingly popular consumer apps on the market are actually regulated, leaving enormous amounts of information largely unprotected. As a result, Americans should be […]

March 9, 2017

With the HHS Office for Civil Rights’ Phase 2 HIPAA audit program in full swing, the American Health Information Management Association has released a toolkit to help covered entities get ready for on-site audits by OCR. According to Kathy Downing, […]

February 1, 2017

While home on paternity leave taking care of my baby daughter, I’ve had a fair amount of time to think about different issues, which means I think about HIPAA. The fact that my mind turns to HIPAA on my free […]

January 31, 2017

Too many organizations pay only lip service to the practice of encrypting important information, increasing the likelihood that they will suffer a cyber attack. According to a new study from Osterman Research, while email encryption is a “critical” or “very […]

January 25, 2017

The first HIPAA enforcement action of 2017 is also the first of its kind—a stiff penalty by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights leveled against a provider that tarried in reporting a breach of […]

December 20, 2016

Weak and fragmented healthcare privacy regulations are failing to provide adequate federal laws to protect personal health information collected by wearable devices that are increasingly popular with consumers. That’s the conclusion of researchers from the American University in Washington, D.C., […]

December 12, 2016

When it comes to HIPAA compliance, no stone can be left unturned. The most recent HIPAA settlement announced by the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services continues the trend of using settlement agreements to […]

November 28, 2016

The HHS Office for Civil Rights has once again sanctioned a healthcare provider organization for violating HIPAA privacy and security rules. The University of Massachusetts Amherst, known as UMass, will pay a $650,000 settlement fine and enter into a two-year […]

November 10, 2016

Thanks to technological breakthroughs, communication in healthcare has evolved by leaps and bounds from the old days of paper filing systems, faxes, and phone calls. Although those methods are still widely used, there are faster ways to keep patients in […]

October 13, 2016

On an almost daily basis, we hear of another healthcare organization, hospital or health plan that has experienced some kind of hack or data breach. According to a study by Symantec Corporation, there were 120 healthcare data breaches in 2015, […]

September 27, 2016

In 1996, The Spice Girls were at the top of the pop music charts. DVDs had just been launched. The number of Internet host computers increased from 1 million to 10 million. And the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act […]

September 8, 2016

As the stakes rise for meeting HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification rules, it’s becoming more important for healthcare organizations to have a coordinated strategy for identifying and addressing all the regulations and standards that apply. As my column discussed […]

September 1, 2016

The prospects for IT security remain downright terrifying, particularly in light of the growing use of ransomware. A recent survey by Malwarebytes and Osterman Research suggest that an average of 4,000 daily ransomware attacks have occurred since early this year, […]

August 16, 2016

Valley Anesthesiology and Pain Consultants, a large practice with more than 300 providers serving multiple hospitals across the greater Phoenix region, has suffered a cyber attack affecting 882,590 patients. The incident also affects all current and former employees and providers, […]

August 10, 2016

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights levied the largest fine ever against a provider organization for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The penalty totaled $5.55 million against […]