The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, seeking public comment on metadata standards to support nationwide electronic health information exchange.
The Health Net Inc. breach that was believed to have affected about 2 million individuals may be larger than originally stated, according to new information from the insurer.
Federal officials should consider a major revamp of a proposal that would require healthcare organizations to provide patients with a report listing everyone who has electronically accessed their records, a former government official who helped draft the proposal says.
When economists dissected July's 0.1 point drop in overall unemployment, to 9.1 percent, they attributed the decline mostly to fewer people seeking work. But that's not the case for IT security professionals. There are few discouraged workers in the information technology occupation categories these days.
The Health IT Policy Committee has endorsed best practices for giving patients clear and simple guidance regarding how to safeguard electronic health records when viewing or downloading them, such as through a hospital's or clinic's portal.
When preparing for a potential HIPAA compliance audit, former HIPAA enforcer Adam Greene advises healthcare organizations: "Don't panic. I'm skeptical if it's possible for an organization to be 'audit-proof.' If you try to scramble and get everything in order, you may fail."
The HHS Office for Civil Rights should carefully consider comments received on its proposal to require healthcare organizations to provide patients with a complete list of everyone who has electronically viewed their information.
What Operation Shady RAT reminds us is not just how vulnerable our IT systems are, but how interconnected we are as a global society, and the fundamental role information technology plays.
The soon-to-be-launched HIPAA compliance audit program likely will initially offer comprehensive assessments of compliance with the HIPAA privacy and security rules, rather than focusing on specific narrower issues, says Susan McAndrew of the HHS Office for Civil Rights.
The cyber threat landscape is more widespread than ever before, and cybersecurity professionals are needed in all sectors, from government to private industry, says Dickie George of the National Security Agency.
"The timing and the targets point to China," says cybersecurity policy expert James Lewis. "Spying right before the Beijing Olympics and focusing on Southeast Asia reflects China's larger interests more than those of any other country."
Federal authorities have received more than 400 comments on a proposed Accounting of Disclosures Rule, including many complaints that its patient record access report provision is impractical.
"The lack of individual accountability over user accounts provides ample opportunities to conceal malicious activity such as theft or misuse of veteran data," VA Assistant Inspector General Belinda Finn says.
About a dozen privacy controls are expected to be added to the next revision of NIST's security controls' guidance, SP 800-53, says NIST Senior Computer Scientist Ron Ross says.
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