Shellshock – New Vulnerability that Healthcare Sector must address now

As the federal tally of major breaches increased to a total of 1074 incidents affecting 33.7 million individuals since 2009, there are more such incidents added to the list every day. Health care organizations on a global scale, though being technologically sound with latest equipment, embedded software and networked environment, are increasingly becoming targets for…

Final HIPAA Omnibus Compliance Deadline Just Around the Corner – Time for Reviewing BA Agreements

With HIPAA Omnibus rule compliance deadline around the corner, it’s time to accelerate compliance measures and ensure that there is no scope for any breach. Reviewing contracts with business associates and subcontractors is an important and top priority task. While enforcement of the HIPAA Omnibus Rule began almost a year ago, there’s one more important…

Data Breach Incidents Rising!! This Time it’s the Information of 1.3 Million Individuals in Montana that’s At Risk!

The healthcare information breach tally continues to rises steadily despite security regulations and associated legal action. And the latest data breach to grab the headlines is the Montana Breach, where hackers gained access to a health department server, compromising the information of 1.3 million individuals on a DPHHS (Department of Public Health and Human Services)…

Imagine leaving boxes full of medical records on the drive way! It happened and it cost $ 800,000. Can you prevent it?

In spite of the continued emphasis on the need for protecting Patient Health Information (PHI), there are still few healthcare enterprises who take things for granted! The latest Parkview Health System Inc., HIPAA settlement for a corrective action at $800,000 demonstrates the need for PHI to be protected in all forms, even paper records. The…

Intelligent Vendor Management Programs – Vital to Ward off Breaches

No organization can afford to take the risk of inadequate data protection, particularly when it is business associates dealing with sensitive patient information. Under the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, business associates of covered entities are directly liable for HIPAA compliance. However in reality, although healthcare organizations enter into comprehensive business associate agreements, many fail to hold…