We all know by now that we are not supposed to give our passwords to anyone else or use someone else’s passwords to access an electronic system. Despite this basic data security tenant, a new study by Healthcare Informatics Research reports that 73% of medical professionals admit that they have used another’s password to access … Continue Reading
Health Data Management (HDM), using information compiled by Protenus Breach Barometer, published a list this week of the biggest health care data breaches so far in 2017. The list used data accessible on the Office for Civil Rights website regarding self-reported breaches by health care entities. According to HDM, approximately 200 data breaches affecting more … Continue Reading
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance yesterday (September 6, 2017) entitled “Design Considerations and Pre-Market Submission Recommendations for Interoperable Medical Devices,” which is intended to “assist industry and FDA staff in identifying specific considerations related to the ability of electronic medical devices to safely and effectively exchange information and use exchanged information.” The … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has used its authority to waive certain provisions of HIPAA in response to Hurricane Harvey. HHS previously declared a public health emergency in Texas and Louisiana related to the hurricane and its aftermath. Under the waiver, HHS waives sanctions against covered hospitals that do not comply … Continue Reading
Baptist Medical Center South, located in Jacksonville, Florida has admitted that one of its backup drives has been missing since May 18, 2017. The unencrypted backup drive contained the protected health information of 531 patients who underwent an EEG at the facility between 2015 and 2017. It has not been recovered to date. The backup … Continue Reading
The North Dakota Department of Human Services has admitted that one of its employees threw Medicaid claim resolution worksheets into a dumpster instead of disposing them in a secure onsite shredding receptacle. The result? The documents were found in the dumpster by a citizen who notified the Department, which then notified almost 2,500 patients of … Continue Reading
For those of you who know me, you know that I have been very frustrated with the federal and state governments for continuing to use Social Security numbers for eligibility, enrollment and participating in Medicare and Medicaid. This includes listing individuals’ Social Security numbers on the Medicare and Medicaid cards. The good news is that … Continue Reading
A new report released by Check Point has security personnel working in the health care industry particularly concerned and they are warning their colleagues about the existence of “Fireball.” Fireball, released by a Chinese operation, has infected approximately 250 million computers worldwide. According to the report, the malware hijacks web browsers and turns computers into … Continue Reading
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its “Report on Improving Cybersecurity in the Health Care Industry,” which is the culmination of a year-long effort on behalf of the Cybersecurity Task Force, made up of industry professionals from the public and private sectors to identify and develop recommendations “on the growing … Continue Reading
Following the frequent and varied ransomware attacks on health care entities over the past few years, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published guidance last summer to the health care industry reminding it that a ransomware attack could be a reportable breach under the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule. Despite the fact that many health care … Continue Reading
The fall-out from WannaCry continues, particularly in the healthcare sector. There are new reports that WannaCry affected at least two hospital systems in the U.S. and encrypted medical devices (power injector systems) in the hospitals. There are additional anecdotal reports that other medical devices were affected by WannaCry. According to medical device company spokesmen, if … Continue Reading
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a press release today announcing that it has settled alleged HIPAA violations with Memorial Hermann Health System (MHHS) for $2.4 million. According to the Resolution Agreement it has inked with the OCR, MHHS must also implement a corrective action plan, including updating its policies and procedures, training staff … Continue Reading
Now more than ever, workplace wellness programs are becoming increasingly popular among employers. A common concern many employers have is how to design a meaningful workplace program intended to improve the health of participating employees while complying with HIPAA’s privacy and security rules. Although employers are not covered entities, HIPAA may apply to an employer’s … Continue Reading
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced that it entered into a settlement with The Center for Children’s Digestive Health (CCDH) for $31,000. CCDH is a small for-profit health care provider with seven locations in Illinois. The settlement arose out of an OCR compliance review initiated in August 2015 after an investigation of a … Continue Reading
The monthly breach report issued by Protenus last week outlining data breaches that occurred in the month of March concludes that there was an “uptick in the number of health data breach incidents.” According to the report, there were 39 incidents last month that involved health information, compromising 1.5 million patient records. A whopping 44 … Continue Reading
Showing no signs of letting up on enforcement actions, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) late last week settled an investigation against Metro Community Provider Network MCPN, a Colorado based federally qualified health center, for alleged HIPAA violations. The fine, a whopping $400,000 for the center, which provides health care services to low income patients, … Continue Reading
ABCD Pediatrics, located in San Antonio, Texas has notified the Office for Civil Rights that a ransomware cyber intrusion has resulted in access to its servers, including the protected health information (PHI) of its patients. The ransomware used by the attackers was Dharma. The practice found through forensic analysis that access had been gained to … Continue Reading
New guidance from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) urges covered entities and business associates to use Secure Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTPS) to protect communications from vulnerabilities. According to OCR, the vulnerability can be introduced by the use of products that inspect HTTPS traffic. These products are used to detect malware or unsafe connections, which … Continue Reading
Buffalo, New York Erie County Medical Center has announced that its IT system has been shut down since Sunday, April 11, 2017, due to an unnamed virus. The shut-down has affected the medical facility’s email system, electronic health record and website. Because the electronic health system is not accessible, staff is using paper records for … Continue Reading
Another employee falls for a phishing attack. This time, it was an employee of the Washington University School of Medicine The employee received a phishing email on December 2, 2016, and fell for what looked like a real request, responded to it, which allowed access to employee email accounts, which included the health information of 80,000 … Continue Reading
On March 23, 2017, New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced settlements with three mobile health application (app) development companies aimed at curbing deceptive marketing practices and inadequate privacy disclosures to consumers. The settlements – reached with Cardiio, Inc., Matis Ltd., and Runtastic GmbH, respectively – target health measurement apps that “purport to … Continue Reading
Florida Memorial Healthcare Systems has agreed to pay the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) $5.5 million to settle alleged HIPAA violations relating to an incident that occurred in April 2012 that two employees accessed patient information of 106,000 patients in an unauthorized manner and with criminal intent, including their names, dates of birth, and Social … Continue Reading
Health care data breaches are not slowing. According to a report issued by Protenus, in conjunction with www.databreaches.net, the summary of healthcare data breaches in 2017 continues where 2016 left off. In January 2017, there were 31 data breaches reported to the Office for Civil Rights. The breaches resulted in the compromise of 388,307 patient … Continue Reading
A new report issued by Safetica USA has organized data breaches affecting over 500 individuals that were self-reported to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in 2016 into a list by state and records exposed. The report identifies the states in which health care providers who reported a data breach are located by the number of … Continue Reading
