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HIPAA

Hospital agrees to pay $750,000 over data breach allegations

Marcos Colon May 25, 2012

After violating state and federal laws, South Shore Hospital has agreed to pay the price.

A smarter migration: Cloud computing

Stephen Lawton May 01, 2012

The decision to move to the cloud has always been wrought with anxiety over entrusting one's data to a third-party. Learning which questions to ask of a provider can help mitigate that concern.

Health hazard: SC Magazine Roundtable

Health care traditionally, compared with other industries, has lagged in terms of cyber defense, but with attackers now specifically targeting these organizations for patient data, inaction is no longer an option.

A room of her own: Philips Electronics North America and Wisegate

Greg Masters April 05, 2012

A privacy officer at a global company found a way to collaborate efficiently at a top level, while ensuring the protection of company assets, reports Greg Masters.

BlueCross fine over breach related to HIPAA notification rule

Marcos Colon March 15, 2012

The BlueCross BlueShield settlement with the Office for Civil Rights is a reminder for health care organizations to bolster their data security, experts said.

Loma Linda hospital worker fired for taking home private records

Dan Kaplan January 04, 2012

The private medical records belonging to some 1,300 patients and/or their guarantors at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California were compromised when a former hospital employee violated policy.

Getting serious about health care security

Peter Spier, manager of professional services, Fortrex Technologies December 06, 2011

Health care providers and their patients both have parts to play in the high-stakes game of protecting sensitive medical information, especially as technology becomes easier to implement and enforcement of regulations intensifies.

Taking a pulse: SC Health Care Roundtable

Illena Armstrong November 01, 2011

Data protection traditionally has lagged at health care organizations when compared to other industry verticals, and emerging technology like mobile devices and cloud computing doesn't make the challenge any easier.

More insiders snooping into health records, says survey

Greg Masters August 31, 2011

Breaches into protected health information (PHI) are on the rise, and staffers are responsible for more than a third of the intrusions, a new survey has found.

Computer theft impacts 400K S. Carolina patients

Angela Moscaritolo July 19, 2011

In one of the largest health care data breaches this year, a computer containing hundreds of thousands of patient records was stolen from South Carolina's Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.

UCLA Health System fined over celebrity patient snooping

Dan Kaplan July 11, 2011

UCLA Health System must pay $865,500 as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over complaints that employees snooped on the health records of two celebrities.

Signing on the dotted line of HIPAA

Bryan Cline, CISO and director of information security at Catholic Health East July 01, 2011

Given that a misrepresentation of the facts during attestation could result in civil and criminal penalties, what does a health care executive need to feel comfortable about before signing on the dotted line?

Something borrowed: Benefits of PCI

Stephen Lawton July 01, 2011

The prescriptive nature of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, often referred to as PCI, can benefit even those companies not processing credit card transactions.

Clinical mobility: cGate Health and FireHost

Greg Masters June 16, 2011

Maintaining protection of clinical data and patients' personal information is the top priority for a health care provider with a focus on mobile devices, reports Greg Masters.

More than 30 hospital workers fired for snooping

Dan Kaplan May 10, 2011

Thirty-two employees were fired from two hospitals in Minnesota after they viewed electronic records belonging to patients who were hospitalized after overdosing at a house party, according to a report in the Minnesota Star-Tribune. The employees, who worked at Unity Hospital in Fridley and Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, do have access to certain records, but in this instance, had no legitimate reason to view the documents. As hospitals transition to electronic health care records, more instances of unauthorized access, such as cases last year in California, have cropped up.

Scaled down, armored up: Small and midsized business protection

Angela Moscaritolo April 01, 2011

For many small and midsize businesses, neglecting IT security is a thing of the past, reports Angela Moscaritolo.

Are you prepared for a breach?

Richard Blumberg, director of data breach response services at Equifax; Gary Kibel, partner at Davis & Gilbert LLP April 01, 2011

A prudent firm should not wait until a clear and direct obligation exists before taking steps to secure its systems and processes.

The dotted lines of health care

Bryan Cline, CISO and director of information security at Catholic Health East January 03, 2011

Health care chief information security officers (CISOs) have to ask themselves, "What exactly are the security and privacy requirements around EHR?"

TECH Rx: Technology and health care

Greg Masters October 01, 2010

The move to electronic medical records presents challenges, but tech solutions offer help for health care practitioners, reports Greg Masters.

Up to code: A.I.M. Mutual Insurance Cos. and BitArmor

Greg Masters September 24, 2010

An insurance provider in Massachusetts had basic security measures in place, but these were not enough to be fully compliant with a strict, new state regulation, reports Greg Masters.

Regulation renovation: Regulatory compliance mandates

Angela Moscaritolo August 02, 2010

The effects of last year's regulatory changes have already begun to surface, reports Angela Moscaritolo.

SIEM: Love it or leave it

Beth Schultz August 02, 2010

Security information and event management (SIEM) tools have frustrated many - yet they are here to stay, reports Beth Schultz.

Rite Aid to pay $1 million fine for HIPAA violation

Greg Masters July 28, 2010

Pharmacy chain Rite Aid will pay a $1 million fine and take corrective actions to settle charges of violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

Health care security: feeling better yet?

Peter Spier, senior risk management consultant, Fortex Technologies July 13, 2010

As health care entities face new compliance demands, a free framework could offer some help.

HIPAA encryption: meeting today's regulations

Sang Lee, senior security analyst, AlertBoot June 30, 2010

The author wades through NIST standards to help organizations select the best encryption technology to satisfy federal health care data protection mandates.

E-health records: Embracing privacy

Deb Radcliff June 01, 2010

There are strategies to cope with customer expectations of privacy when there are no boundaries around their data, reports Deb Radcliff.

Health worker is first HIPAA privacy violator to get jail time

Dan Kaplan April 28, 2010

A former UCLA Health System employee, apparently disgruntled over an impending firing, has been sentenced to four months in federal prison after pleading guilty in January to illegally snooping into patient records, mainly those belonging to celebrities.

Patient data check-up: First Medical Management and Fortinet

Greg Masters July 23, 2009

First Medical Management, a health care services provider in California, found a simple way to protect patient records and hospital data, reports Greg Masters