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Holes In Your Network
IT departments at health care providers around the country are scrambling to stay ahead of hackers and others who might be trying to get at the HIPAA-covered patient information on your network. Your office - big or small - is probably no different. (…)

HIPAA Penalties Get Tougher
Could this be one of your employees?

According to the indictment, Howell disclosed "personally identifiable health information" to two people from June to August, knowing they would use it to commit "access device fraud" and identity theft. (…)

How Quiet Is Your Hospital?
It's a well documented fact that patients in noisy hospitals recover more slowly than patients in quiet environments, and it's certainly a benefit from a customer service perspective. (…)

Celebrities Aren't the Only Ones…
Fox News reports that celebrities such as Britney Spears and George Clooney aren't the only ones in danger of having their medical records snooped through. According to the story, those forms you sign often give the hospital the right to sell your data to drug companies,
But even the most strict consent form can be pretty meaningless, and you should be very concerned about who's overhearing your HIPAA-covered private information. Are you taking steps to ensure your patients' private information is kept private - both inside and outside your facility?

Dentists Fail HIPAA Test
In a small but significant survey of HIPAA compliance among dentists, exactly none of the surveyed dentists were HIPAA compliant. The reasons ranged from honest misunderstandings of the requirements to open defiance. From recent surprise HIPAA audits, however, it doesn't appear this is a great long-term strategy. (…)

Surprise! Are You Ready for a HIPAA Audit?
HHS has begun conducting surprise audits of hospitals' HIPAA compliance with HIPAA's privacy rules. Are you ready?
Oral privacy is often a blind spot for HIPAA-governed entities - one which most healthcare providers have significant exposure to fines and costly litigation. Have you applied "reasonable safeguards" to ensure that, for example, people near your hospital's nursing station don't overhear a doctor's diagnosis of a patient?
Remember, the same protections afforded to paper and electronically based information must apply to verbal communications as well.
You've probably spent a lot of money securing your computer network. How about your "human network"? (…)

HIPAA Privacy Regulations: Are You In Compliance?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a U.S. federal privacy law that went into effect on April 14, 2003. (…)

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