When is it acceptable to allow healthcare workers to use their personal smartphones to access patient records? A recent incident at the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs spotlights the dilemma.
As the HIPAA security rule turns 20, it's time for regulators to make updates reflecting the changing cyberthreat landscape and technological evolution that's happened over the past two decades, says security expert Tom Walsh.
Documents containing information on more than 300,000 patients were recently discovered on the former campus of a Missouri hospital that's being prepared for demolition four years after the hospital moved to new facilities. The incident illustrates the need to track all paper records that contain PHI.
More than a dozen technology and medical organizations are asking HHS why it's taking so long to issue regulations aimed at limiting the blocking of health information sharing. The regs were called for in a law passed in 2016.
As Amazon expands its activities in healthcare, include a high-profile venture into the pharmacy business, the online retail giant will face a wide variety of important privacy issues, attorneys Jeffrey Short and Todd Nova explain.
Are federal regulators beginning to slack off on HIPAA compliance enforcement? While some observers say the lack of recent settlement announcements could signal the start of a lasting trend, others contend that HHS remains committed to aggressive HIPAA enforcement.
HHS is considering making changes to federal privacy regulations governing health data - including HIPAA and the 42 CFR Part 2 law. While regulatory experts are already debating whether changes to HIPAA are, indeed, needed, many say changes to the 42 CFR Part 2 are long overdue.
While California already had some of the strictest and most varied privacy laws in the country, the new California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 "is a whole new ballgame," says privacy attorney Kirk Nahra, who explains why.
A federal grand jury in Pennsylvania has indicted a former patient coordinator on several counts of wrongfully obtaining and disclosing the health information of others. The case is the latest rare example of prosecutors pursuing criminal charges for HIPAA violations.
A federal court recently dismissed a case filed by a patient alleging a laboratory violated HIPAA by failing to shield her personal health information from public view. The ruling once again reaffirmed a longstanding precedent that individuals cannot sue for alleged HIPAA violations.
Over the past year, financial services organizations have seen an 87% increase in credential leakage, 149% increase in stolen credit cards, 151% increase in cyberattack indications and 49% increase in fake social media accounts. In addition, state-sponsored APT groups (with little to no financial motivation) have...
A lack of device encryption will cost a Texas-based cancer treatment center $4.3 million in civil monetary penalties from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Addressing an important privacy issue, federal regulators have issued guidance to clarify details about how patients should authorize the use or disclosure of their protected health information for future research - and their right to revoke that authorization.
A breach involving misdirected emails to nearly 56,000 patients allegedly tied to a sorting error by a business associate has taken an unusual twist: The organization involved, Dignity Health, is asking for patients' help in mitigating the privacy mishap. But could that move prove to be counterproductive?
Consumers have more healthcare choices than ever, meaning payers and providers have more competition as well. Many are differentiating themselves in the marketplace by adding health tracking apps and integrating with partners to display prescription, billing and appointment .
Your patients and members are today's...
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