Happening in the Industry

In recent years, the number of employees discovered to be accessing or stealing PHI has increased. The value of PHI on the black market is considerable, and this can be a big temptation for some. It is essential that controls are put in place to limit the opportunity for individuals to steal patient data, and […]

How is your wireless access set up within the organization? Are you asking yourself how it should be set up in order to reach HIPAA compliance and protect the environment? A wireless access point is hardware that allows Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network. The access point typically connects to a router via […]

As defined by HHS, a Business Associate is a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities that involve the use or disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) on behalf of, or provides services to, a Covered Entity. Business Associate functions and activities include claims processing or administration, data analysis, processing or administration, utilization […]

The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires organizations to secure Protected Health Information (PHI). The HIPAA Security Rule explains how to secure PHI and electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI), including how that data should be handled, transmitted and maintained. The Security Rule requires healthcare organizations and their Business Associates to have three security safeguards in place: Administrative, […]

On February 17th, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) delivered two key reports to Congress, detailing their findings regarding HIPAA privacy and breach data for the 2021 calendar year. These reports offer regulated entities key insight into their own HIPAA compliance efforts by looking closely at […]

HIPAA’s Privacy Rule protects all “individually identifiable health information” held or transmitted by a Covered Entity, no matter what form it is in. HIPAA applies whether a person’s health information is held or disclosed electronically, orally, or in written form. A person’s health information is often referred to as Protected Health Information (PHI). PHI is […]

Anatomy IT, a leader in managed IT and cybersecurity for the healthcare industry, announced today the appointment of several new executives with extensive healthcare and business experience to drive its next growth phase. The new executives are: • David F. Smith III, Chief Financial Officer • Curt Thornton, Chief Commercial Officer • Jennifer Clarke, Senior […]

In the Administrative Safeguards of the HIPAA Security Rule, under Security Awareness and Training Standards there are four implementation specifications, two of which are log-in monitoring and password management. Log-in monitoring states the Covered Entity must: “Implement procedures for monitoring log-in attempts and reporting discrepancies.” Where a system or application does not have a set […]

Tabletop exercises—simulated interactive exercises that test an organization’s emergency response procedures—are an essential aspect of emergency preparedness. It is critical in a healthcare environment to test readiness in the event of an emergency or disaster, either natural (fire, flood) or manmade (hacker, ransomware attack). The first and foremost reason to be conducting a tabletop exercise […]

Your organization has made a decision to change/upgrade Electronic Medical Records (EMR) or to move from a Practice Management software to a full-blown EMR. Some of the areas to educate yourself in would be: What happens with the data from the previous/legacy system? Will this be imported into the new EMR, or will it remain […]