This week in HIPAA news we are shining a light on two rules that display the spectrum of ‘bending’ from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The first, showing flexibility, announced that penalties with regard to HIPAA, as it pertains to the COVID-19 vaccination, will not be imposed when […]
Archive | COVID-19 Security
What happens when automation and outsourcing go toe-to-toe?
Outsourcing is a cost-savings approach that was cemented during the first industrial revolution. The idea was to create more output for less capital by fulfilling mass production efforts where labor costs are lower (i.e. abroad). As we enter the age of automation, the next industrial revolution will be a digital one. Now, it’s technology leading […]
Learn from Others
By Mary Beth Carl on February 15, 2021 in COVID-19 Security, HIPAA IT Security, Latest News, Tech Tips
The office for Civil Rights gathered information at the end of 2020 that is important for any covered entity or business associate that operates under HIPAA guidelines. Summarized in the U.S. Health and Human Service (HHS) HIPAA Audits Industry Report, this data should be regarded as a useful tool for any business that deals with HIPAA, and one […]
Cybersecurity Trends for 2021
Bell bottoms, neon colors…kale…trends come, and trends go, and generally, we’re not one to care much about what’s in style, but cybersecurity trends? That’s one we can get behind and think that there can never be enough of! So, what can you expect to see as both a consumer, employee, employer, business owner or just […]
Stolen Secrets
Every family has that safely guarded recipe. The family secret of the special ingredient or process that makes their mom or grandma’s signature dish extra magical. It is guarded through generations, shared only in the kitchen or on a tattered recipe card. Imagine if a hacker stole that recipe and sold it to a big […]
A Quick Refresher
As we move ahead, taking advantage of the energy of the new year and work to get our annual plans moving, sometimes rushing to get a lot more done than usual since we now know the unexpected is all that can be expected, let’s have a quick refresher. On what, you ask? Smart, safe, and sane […]
What If Employees Refuse the Vaccine?
By Mary Beth Carl on February 1, 2021 in COVID-19 Security, HIPAA IT Security, Latest News, Tech Tips
In healthcare, we want to assume that we are collectively working to advance medicine and whatever the latest developments are, well we want “in”. What if that development is the COVID-19 vaccine and as it turns out, someone on your team isn’t interested? According to a survey done by the Pew Research Center, not all Americans felt […]
Potential Changes Ahead
The Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule that could be substantial. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposal stated it was to “remove barriers to, coordinated care and individual engagement” and was issued last week. Addressing standards of the rule may limit and/or discourage care […]
Digital transformation: New study shows how to grow your business in 2021
By Mary Beth Carl on January 21, 2021 in COVID-19 Security, HIPAA IT Security, Latest News, Tech Tips
It’s often said that change equals growth. But while that may be true, it doesn’t take into account the fact that changing how we do something – and adapting to new technologies and systems – can be hard. If you own or run a company, where a change in process means tens or even hundreds […]
HIPAA & the Media
By Mary Beth Carl on January 18, 2021 in COVID-19 Security, HIPAA IT Security, Latest News, Tech Tips
Can a journalist reveal an individual’s COVID-19 diagnosis or are they in violation of HIPAA laws by doing so? Healthcare and the diagnosis of a person’s well-being are private information in general, but when it comes to reporting, and doing so in a pandemic, suddenly ‘who has what and where are they?’ becomes a matter […]