On September 10, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the issuance of another right of access fine. The OCR HIPAA investigation led to the twentieth right of access fine issued since the 2019 right of access enforcement initiative was announced. Children's Hospital & Medical Center OCR HIPAA Investigation In May 2020, the OCR received [...]
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) regulates the data privacy of Canadian citizens, known as “personal information.” But, what is personal information under PIPEDA? Personal Information Under PIPEDA The PIPEDA act classifies “personal information” as any factual or subjective information, about or relating to an identifiable individual. Subjective information may include opinions or beliefs , even if the information [...]
As hackers become more sophisticated, it is important to keep up to date with new threats. There are two new threats that are concerning in that they are difficult to recognize and detect. One of these threats is a very convincing phishing scam, while the other is a malicious encryption scheme that evades ransomware detection software. Although these are not necessarily healthcare cybersecurity threats, they target businesses across [...]
Dental office administrative staff are often overburdened with a multitude of tasks, especially as of late with staffing shortages across the country. These staff members are often required to wear many hats and are therefore more likely to fall victim to burnout. With their focus divided across several tasks, it is difficult to fully address the security needs of the modern dental practice. This is where dental IT [...]
Help desks are an important part of running any business, but as a business working in healthcare it is important to keep HIPAA in mind when selecting which help desk software is right for your business. Whenever patient information is filtered through a software platform, that platform must be HIPAA compliant. So how do you choose a HIPAA compliant help desk? HIPAA [...]
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), regulates any private sector business that does business in Canada that can gather, use, and disclose personal data of Canadian citizens. Businesses that are subject to PIPEDA must meet certain requirements to comply with the law. Part of PIPEDA compliance requires businesses to train employees, but what are PIPEDA training requirements? PIPEDA Training Requirements PIPEDA dictates that an organization’s [...]
Malware and ransomware attacks have become more prevalent in recent times across all industries and market sectors. Large-scale attacks such as the ones perpetrated on Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods were widely covered by the media. But these are not the only examples of successfully conducted attacks on businesses of all types and sizes. The healthcare industry presents attractive targets for hackers [...]
The HIPAA Act turns 25 on August 21, 2021. On Wednesday, August 21, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed HIPAA into law, with bipartisan support from Congress. The signing took place as part of a gala ceremony on the White House lawn, complete with a Marine band and an invited audience. In the past 25 years, the Department of Health and Human Services has issued regulations requiring covered entities [...]
HIPAA regulates much more in a healthcare business than most would think. Did you know that HIPAA dictates specific guidelines on how protected health information may be used in a healthcare provider’s reception area? So that you can avoid HIPAA violations by accidental unauthorized disclosure of PHI, HIPAA guidelines for reception areas are discussed. HIPAA Guidelines for Reception Areas There are several [...]
There were a staggering 4,774,165 patients affected by July’s 58 healthcare information breaches. The majority of these breaches were reported by healthcare providers, representing 65% of the total number of breaches for the month, and 71% of the total number of patients affected. And while it’s unsurprising, hacking incidents were the leading cause behind the month’s breaches, representing 72% of reported breaches, and 96% of patients affected by [...]