The following blog was written for the HIPAA Secure Now community by DataFile Technologies, a leading provider of health data management including fast records release services with a 24-hour turn-around time, and an industry-leading accuracy rate over 99.9%. You may have seen an uptick in medical records requests labeled with “HITECH Request” or experienced requestors...
Humans or HIPAA? When it comes to healthcare organizations addressing the HIPAA compliance of their business, many feel prepared and comfortable, readily checking that “compliant” box. But addressing the human part of security falls by the wayside too often. Compliance and cybersecurity, which includes human security, both need to be a part of your overall...
HIPAA – Then & Now The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, has been around since 1996, with the intent to protect patients by properly handling their protected health information (PHI). With good intentions, HIPAA set forth to provide both security provisions and data privacy. The legislation was passed in the...
As many of you know, an Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a digital record of a patient’s paper charts, updated in real-time. This is an incredible option to have in the world of medicine, where information can be exchanged between doctors as well as business associates. It also provides an incredible benefit to the patient,...
A potential class action lawsuit has been filed against the University of Chicago Medical Center (UChicago Medicine) by a former patient, claiming his and thousands of other patients’ medical records were shared with Google without authorization and without removing identifying information. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District...
Hello, HIPAA The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better know as HIPAA, was passed by Congress in 1996 and called for the protection and confidential handling of protected health information (PHI). HIPAA still exists today, aiming to protect patients and their information, but it’s important to think about how far we’ve come in the...
A doctor’s office in Battle Creek, Michigan is closing its doors following a ransomware attack that left them with no other option – besides pay up. The Demand and the Decision Dr. William Scalf told a local news outlet, WWMT West Michigan, that hackers locked the files at Brookside ENT and Hearing Center, demanding...
Healthcare breaches are incredibly difficult for organizations to deal with. Repercussions of a data breach vary greatly depending on what caused the breach to begin with. For example, there’s the struggle of getting your organization back up and running, determining the cause of the breach, notifying patients, taking corrective action, reporting the breach, potentially finding...
As the digital ecosystem continues to thrive and advance, so too must the regulations and practices for safely caring for sensitive data. That is especially true for the healthcare industry, which continues to be a prime target for cybercriminals. Healthcare practices need to appropriately safeguard electronic protected health information in compliance with the Health Insurance...
As the value of healthcare data remains high, there is no denying that healthcare organizations make prime targets for cybercriminals. To wreak havoc and make a profit from compromised patient data, cybercriminals exploit weak spots in healthcare organizations, whether that be a loophole in the security of the server, poorly trained employees, or a variety...
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