The Internet of Things (IoT) is already here, it isn't something that is coming. It is here and it is the future, it will just become more prominent in our daily lives.
If you expect your IT company to do certain things as a HIPAA compliant vendor you are more likely to have the level of support you need. If you don't ask then they may not be fully aware of what you need or what it requires to be HIPAA compliant themselves.
We review the latest OCR settlement CAP details.
This week we get in the Halloween spirit and share some scary stories that make you have those compliance nightmares.
Description Business Associates and required BAAs are discussed often but not resolved quickly. Let's talk about some ideas and issues that go with BAAs. Links FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Notes Who is a BA? A business partner who provides a service to a CE or BA that requires them to CReMaT PHI. Anyone with persistent access to ePHI whether they do anything with it or not is irrelevant - the fact that they CAN do things is what matters. Complexity is increasing Dietitians...
Description We explained the concepts of encryption in Episode 2: Let’s Talk Encryption but people continue to ask more about what they really need to do with encryption. Links FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Episode 2: Let’s Talk Encryption The government and privacy advocates can’t agree on what ‘strong’ encryption even means Notes First, what can encryption do for you and what it can't do for you. VPN, HTTPS, SSL, SFTP, etc. Protect communications from prying eyes. Everyth...
Cybersecurity coverage being challenged in court has some important points that all businesses should consider. Links FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Help Me With HIPAA Notes COLUMBIA CASUALTY COMPANY v. COTTAGE HEALTH SYSTEM Data breach occurred Breach announcement said: Between October 8, 2013 and December 2, 2013, PHI of approximately 32,500 patients on the CEs servers weredisclosed to the public via the internet. Hospital got voicemail message from a third party, who info...
Show Notes If they were shocked that no one was actually watching for security holes at Ashley Madison you can bet they will be shocked that you haven't been looking because Healthcare is supposed to be private. Ashley Madison: Nobody was watching Top 10 Tech Companies with Ashley Madison Accounts What kinds of things do you need to do to actually be considered looking for them, though? HIPAA Compliant IT Router / Firewall test showed 600% Increase in Unique Vulnerabilities Discovered Last Year ...
Show Notes When it comes to securing anything the weakest link in the chain is always people. People are the ones who make mistakes, over-share, and are also the criminals. This episode talks about what people can manage to do so you have to think of all kinds of things outside the norm. University of Pittsburgh MC BA breach after being hacked the year before Employee of the billing service call center copied personal information from the billing system. 2,259 patients were then passed on to a t...
Mobile devices are vulnerable just like your network, servers, laptops, and desktops. Your risk analysis should include checking on any types of messages, pictures, or access to your data that can be done on your smartphones. Even if you don't put PHI on them they may be able to be used against you in some way to crack your network and your PHI. Patches Android updates and know your version of Android Wipe leaves some stuff on old Android versions iOS updates and know your version Windows is so ...
Let's review email systems and how they can be secured for ePHI and other sensitive data. Find Healthcare IT HIPAA For MSPs Kardon Compliance Alston Article on Email Security Notes Leigh from Florida sent us an email asking for us to explain some more specifics about email. She had been listening to Episode 8: HIPAA Myths Part 2 which mentioned it but she had specific questions how can email be secured. This couldn't be covered in a quick 5 minute HIPAA answer episode so we are doing a whole epi...
Links ComplyAssistant FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Notes Who is Gerry Blass Been in healthcare for the long ride Consultant for years Now consultant and software company ComplyAssistant - when did you start development and what was your vision for it? What kinds and size of clients do you have - hospital, practices, BAs and CEs of all types ComplyAssistant features Due Diligence for BAs Contract management Incident Management Project Management Documentation, Documentation...
Culture of compliance is the phrase OCR uses when defining what they are looking for in an audit or investigation. They also use the phrase robust compliance program in the same manner. Using these steps is a great way to make sure your organization is following their lead. Links ComplyAssistant Compliance Management Solution Spher EHR Access Monitoring Solution FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Notes 7 steps to improving your Privacy & Security policies and procedures and ...
In 2014 NIST introduced the National Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). It is designed for all businesses, large and small, to know things they should be doing to protect their businesses, data, customers, and more. Just how does it compare to HIPAA? Notes NIST Cybersecurity Framework DHS Getting Started for Small and Midsize Businesses (SMB) US Chamber of Commerce: Internet Security Essentials for Business 2.0 C3 Voluntary Program: Begin the Conversation: Understand the Threat Environment FindHealt...
An interview with Ray Ribble discussing the AMS Spher product. We learn how Spher can automatically "learn" what access patterns are normal and ask you when something isn't right. Your HIPAA compliance requirement to audit access logs may be solved with this tool. Your very own HIPAA Breach Detection Service! Links The AMS SPHER™ Solution FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Notes Who is AMS and Ray Ribble? Tell us about The AMS SPHER™ Solution. Behaviorial Analytics SPHER leverag...
Description What a HIPAA Risk Analysis includes and why you need it for your cybersecurity risk management. Glossary CReMaT'ed - Create, Receive, Maintain, Transmit CIA - Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability Links JPP Medical Record OCR Guidance on Risk Analysis Training Documentation for this episode FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Notes Not a simple checklist it requires a lot of thought, data collection, and analysis. The analysis part Define where e-PHI is CReMaT'ed i...
We have a listener who called in with an example situation to find out what we thought. Is the company a Business Associate? Listen to Donna's answer in Episode A2. These short "answer episodes" are released weekly on Tuesday mornings when we have them come in. Send us your questions and we will publish them with our thoughts and the best answers we can muster! Use the Website form or Speakpipe voicemail You can also find all our social media contact information at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com....
Description A Breach Response plan is a required element of your compliance program since HITECH became effective. Everyone must have a written plan and know what needs to be done. Glossary NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology Links NIST SP 800-61 Revision 2 - Computer Security Incident Handling Guide APDerm Resolution Agreement See item 2(2) FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Notes Establishing an incident response capability should include the following actions:...
How do I get rid of my printers properly? Find out in HIPAA Answers Episode A1. Thanks for our listener questions that are coming in! It took us a bit to work out the best way to get back to you, so sorry for the delay. Today we introduce, HIPAA Answers episodes. These short "answer episodes" will be released weekly on Tuesday mornings. Send us your questions and we will get them answered. Lots of ways to contact us below! Website form or Speakpipe voicemail Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Google+ Sen...
Description A discussion of the findings in the recently released study concerning healthcare breaches in 2014. Glossary A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party contractor that is under contract (usually a monthly fee) to provide on-going technology support to other organizations. Links Fourth Annual Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security Criminal Attacks: The New Leading Cause of Data Breach in Healthcare FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Notes Represen...
ONC recently published an updated guide for Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information. This episode David and Donna discuss what that guide calls the Seven-Step Approach for Implementing a Security Management Process. Links Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information FindHealthcareIT HIPAAforMSPS.com Kardon Compliance Notes The 7 Steps Step 1: Lead Your Culture, Select Your Team, and Learn Assign your officers, make sure they are trained, show compliance is a top d...
We finish up our discussion about some common myths (or points of confusion) surrounding HIPAA compliance requirements. GlossaryMyth is a widely held but false belief or idea. Links HealthIT.gov Top 10 Myths of Security Risk Analysis HealthIT.gov Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information Analysis Notes 1 - 7 of 10 Covered in two previous episodes. HIPAA covers all PHI no matter who possesses the information. False. HIPAA law applies to entities that are health plans, healthc...
We continue our discussion about some common myths (or points of confusion) surrounding HIPAA compliance requirements. GlossaryMyth is a widely held but false belief or idea. Links HealthIT.gov Top 10 Myths of Security Risk Analysis HealthIT.gov Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information Analysis Notes 1-3 In previous episode Communicating with patients via email, fax, or telephone violates HIPAA. Actually, not true. But.... reasonable and appropriate safeguards must be in pl...
we discuss some common myths (or points of confusion) surrounding HIPAA compliance requirements. Glossary Myth is a widely held but false belief or idea. Links HealthIT.gov Top 10 Myths of Security Risk Analysis HealthIT.gov Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information Analysis Notes Providers are not allowed to share information about a patient with others unless authorized by the patient to do so. False. Providers can share: With anyone the patient identifies as a caregiver W...
In this episode we discuss technology support requirements under HIPAA and why professional, HIPAA compliant IT services are an important part of managing your security compliance. The Security Rule has so many specific technical things to consider it really requires professional technology services to handle it properly. We discuss why that is needed and what to expect from a HIPAA Compliant IT company. Glossary A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party contractor that is under contract...
In this episode we discuss the importance of documentation for your HIPAA compliance program. You can be doing everything right but without documentation there is now way for you to show anyone else that is the case. If you can't prove it then you aren't doing it as far as OCR is concerned. Glossary A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party contractor that is under contract (usually a monthly fee) to provide on-going technology support to other organizations. Links FindHealthcareIT HIPAA...
In this episode we discuss how to take the first steps to building a "culture of compliance" in your organization. Every project has to start somewhere but where do you start with something as big and complicated as HIPAA? Well.... Just like the joke goes "How do you eat an elephant?" "One bite at a time." How do you break HIPAA Compliance into bite sized pieces and get your project moving? We have some tips for you. Glossary A culture of compliance is when an organization establishes standards,...
HIPAA requires encryption in transit and lists encryption at rest as addressable. What does all that mean?
Help Me with HIPAA does have a point and vision even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. Learn about your hosts and the plan for the show.
In this episode we discuss the definition of a Business Associate. How do you find your Business Associates and what should your process for managing them include. Glossary A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party contractor that is under contract (usually a monthly fee) to provide on-going technology support to other organizations. Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) is the document CEs provide to patients when they begin treatment or coverage. It is the document that defines the CEs Pri...
