When it comes to health data privacy and security issues, industry experts aren't sure what to expect from Tom Price, M.D., the newly confirmed secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. But they offer a wish list of what they hope will happen.
Plenty of healthcare organizations have been stung by data breaches caused by their business associates. That's one reason why Beaufort Memorial Hospital has been taking a variety of measures to help prevent reportable incidents involving its BAs, says CIO Ed Ricks.
What do the 22 health data breaches reported in 2017 that have been added to the federal "wall of shame" tally have in common? Find out in this latest update.
In this edition of the ISMG Security Report: an analysis of a major fine against a Texas hospital and its implications for how the Trump administration might enforce HIPAA rules. Also, an IRS-related phishing scheme targets businesses.
Federal HIPAA enforcers smacked a Texas pediatric hospital with a $3.2 million civil monetary penalty after investigating breaches involving unencrypted mobile devices and uncovering longstanding failures to comply with HIPAA. What lessons does the case offer?
Privacy and data security experts are sizing up how an executive order signed by President Trump that requires two regulations to be eliminated for every new regulation issued by an executive branch department or agency might affect the actions of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Privacy and security attorney Kirk Nahra offers a forecast for how the Trump administration might address various health data security issues, including HIPAA enforcement, and an assessment of the Obama administration's record on those issues.
In its second HIPAA enforcement action for 2017, HHS has slapped an insurer with a $2.2 million settlement in the wake of a relatively small breach, citing the company's lack of timely corrective action.
In this edition of the ISMG Report: An FTC complaint filed against a camera manufacturer could signal the start of a trend to regulate IoT security. Also, Donald Trump adviser Rudolph Giuliani's cybersecurity credentials are questioned, and a terrorist shooting prompts new privacy guidance.
HHS has issued new health data privacy guidance and announced a contest to create an online "model privacy notice generator." Plus, it's issued a reminder about the importance of reviewing and securing audit logs to help prevent and detect breaches.
Although HIPAA requires healthcare organizations to conduct a periodic security risk analysis focused on systems containing PHI, larger entities should also perform more comprehensive security self-assessments, advises CISO David Loewy of SUNY Downstate Medical Center, who explains his approach.
A physician who used her patients' information to aid her successful 2015 campaign for Virginia state senator in violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule won't be sanctioned by federal regulators.
In a reminder of HIPAA's tough requirements for breach notification, federal regulators have issued a $475,000 financial settlement and corrective action plan for Chicago-based Presence Health tied to its tardy notification for a 2013 paper records breach affecting only about 800 individuals.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) just celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2016 as one of the most significant pieces of healthcare-related legislation in U.S. history. Once viewed as a "paper tiger," it has taken many years for the full impact of HIPAA's data security provisions to be...
The transition to a new presidential administration makes forecasting for HIPAA enforcement activity in 2017 difficult, says privacy attorney David Holtzman of the consultancy Cynergistek, who sizes up what the HHS Office for Civil Rights might do this year.
