(Part one of a four-part series)
For years, healthcare organizations have faced federal requirements to comply with HIPAA privacy and security rules. But those rules had no teeth because they were rarely enforced.
Last year's passage of the HITECH Act toughened the rules, mandated ramped-up enforcement and...
Patients have a right to know when their information was disclosed or breached. And so does the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and in some extreme cases, your local news media - largely because of the HITECH Act.
Some healthcare organizations saw a doubling in hacker attacks in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a small study of customers of SecureWorks Inc., an Atlanta-based information security services company.
A new report outlining a four-year national strategy for dealing with pandemics and other disasters singles out the important role information technology, especially electronic health records, can play.
The report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "National Health Security Strategy of the...
Privacy, data security and consumer protection - three of the top concerns to organizations everywhere. And they are three of the topics nearest and dearest to Lydia Parnes, former director of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Now a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Wilson...
One of the nation's best-known healthcare data security experts who's advising federal regulators on policy issues offers advice to organizations preparing to comply with the data breach notification requirements of the HITECH Act.
In an interview, Dixie Baker of SAIC advises hospitals and others to:
Study how...
From ATM skimming to the Zeus malware, credit and debit cards are under increased attack by fraudsters, and organizations need to step up their efforts to protect their customers - and themselves. What steps can you take to avoid being the next payment card fraud victim?
Join Kimberly Peretti, former senior...
Faced with the threat of much stiffer penalties for data security violations and ramped-up enforcement at the federal and state levels, many hospitals are just starting to pay serious attention to security, contends consultant Kate Borten. But they must go far beyond investing in new technologies to develop...
In 10 years as a security compliance officer, Christopher Paidhrin has seen his role broaden as data security has become an even higher priority at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash.
Today, Paidhrin is more involved in policy development. He's also pushing to improve awareness of the policies...
Information security is the hot career option for professionals in 2010 and beyond.
This is the prediction of David Foote of Foote Partners, the FL-based consultancy that tracks IT skills and competencies. In a look ahead at 2010 and beyond, Foote discusses:
the security careers "bubble" and how it began;
the...
Get the side-by-side comparison of industry's leading Enterprise PBX solutions and vendors. Our Focus product specialists evaluated big players, like Cisco Systems and ShoreTel, across 30 feature categories.
The enterprise (medium to large-sized business) market is getting more and more attention from...
Hospitals and other healthcare organizations need to identify data security breaches "in a much more systematic way" to help ensure the privacy of personal information. That's the advice of Lisa Gallagher, senior director for privacy and security at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems...
Malware is increasingly sophisticated, and social media are the common new venues for attacks.
These are the headlines from the latest Cisco Annual Security Report. Patrick Peterson, Cisco senior fellow, offers highlights of the report, discussing:
Top trends and threats;
The risks to specific vertical...
The single most important step hospitals should take to comply with the HITECH Act is to retrain all employees, physicians and even volunteers on how to maintain the privacy and security of personal health information. That's the advice of Dan Rode, a regulatory expert at the American Health Information Management...
To make sure their information technology strategies adequately address the needs of physicians, many hospitals have designated a doctor to serve as chief medical informatics officer. These physicians are working closely with CIOs, CSOs and others to help select and implement I.T., including technologies to keep...
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