Tag: HIPAA
Cybersecurity: Think HIPAA and beyond
September 13, 2021Jeff Woodham
Q. Why is cybersecurity important to HME providers?
A. For HME providers, understanding and acknowledging the importance of cybersecurity is a key component of strategic risk management that can support the sustainability and stability of the organization. Without good practices and controls in place, the organization could face fines; incur economic damage due to ransomware; create reputational damage; or cause harm to patients, employees and the communities they serve.
HME...
Apria turns to Absolute
January 24, 2020HME News Staff
LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Apria Healthcare now leverages Absolute to ensure endpoint security across more than 8,000 devices and to help achieve HIPAA compliance, according to a press release from the tech company. Apria has turned to Absolute's Persistence technology for zero-touch IT asset management. The technology, the foundation of the company's Resilience solution, enables a “self-healing, unbreakable two-way connection to endpoints, applications and data.” It provides an adaptive...
Legal Update: Establish social media policy
January 8, 2020Matthew Fischer
Q. Is it possible to commit a HIPAA violation when using social media?A. Yes. Suppliers should be aware of the intersection of social media and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Problems can arise with even innocent responses containing a patient's protected health information (PHI) on social media.To better highlight this issue, let's review the latest enforcement action by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the government body...
HIPAA compliance: Providers have homework to do
November 20, 2018Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON - The finding that zero of the “covered entities” recently audited by the Office of Civil Rights fully complied with HIPAA requirements is a “wake-up call” for HME providers, says Wayne van Halem.What's more, the OCR found that more than 80% of “covered entities” made minimal, negligible or no efforts to comply with the requirements.“Our industry is really vulnerable here,” said van Halem, president of The van Halem Group, a division...
HIPAA Security: Give gift of security
November 21, 2017Ebba Blitz
A. Many of us are traveling over the holiday season and taking our laptops and devices with us. And sometimes those devices don't make it home. In a single month in 2015 the TSA at Los Angeles International Airport found 154 laptops, 98 cell phones and 18 iPads.
When faced with the loss of a laptop people often think their biggest challenge is restoring data, but that's just part of the problem. It's also important to protect the data on the lost device. Eighty percent...
HIPAA Security: Create security checklist
October 20, 2017Ebba Blitz
A. October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. It is the perfect time to evaluate your own data breach risk.
Don't leave the “keys on your doorstep”—Encrypt your hard drive. This will protect all information stored on your computer.
Login passwords stored in your browser—Sensitive data isn't only stored on devices directly but is often accessible via online storage services that allow users to remotely access company data in the cloud. However, if...
HME: Not so hip on HIPAA?
October 13, 2017Liz Beaulieu, Editor
ATLANTA - Industry consultants report a number of HIPAA-related audits making the rounds in the HME industry and the best they can tell, providers, for the most part, are not prepared for them.The key elements of HIPAA compliance revolve around three safeguards, says Wayne van Halem: administrative (do you have policies and procedures in place, and do you perform training and education); physical (where are you storing your physical records, and are they secure?); and technical (where are you storing...
HIPAA Security: Guard against exposure
September 22, 2017Ebba Blitz
A. A breach is an incident in which an individual name, plus a Social Security number, driver's license number or a medical or financial record, is potentially put at risk due to exposure. For firms in the medical industry, the cost for not protecting patient data is astronomical. According to the Office for Civil Rights, some $17 million in HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) violation settlements have been paid out in 2017 alone. Some of these settlements include:
•...
Cyber Security: Be a PHI poster child
July 25, 2016Rob Duryea
A. In 2015 alone more than 100 million patient health records were compromised. Fully protecting patient information has become a never-ending fight, according to the Office of Civil Rights under Health and Human Services. Even if you're keeping your patients' records under lock and key, the patients themselves may be sharing their private information through any number of social media platforms.
Last month, we covered how to prevent a security breach from the inside and next month...
HIPAA audits could catch providers off guard
March 25, 2016Tracy Orzel
WASHINGTON - With the Office of Civil Rights gearing up for phase 2 of its HIPAA Audit Program, HME providers could be doing a better job of protecting patient information, legal experts say.“For the most part, they probably do not take it as seriously as they should,” said healthcare attorney Denise Leard with Brown & Fortunatoin Amarillo, Texas. “I think there are a lot of opportunities to go wrong.”Last week, the OCR announced plans to obtain and verify contact information...