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Briefings on HIPAA

Issue 12, December 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Take extra precautions to protect EHR security and confidentiality

  Feeling insecure about your health data security? If so, it is no wonder, considering the frequent...

• Healthcare providers encouraged to encrypt data at rest

  State laws requiring notification of a security breach to patients whose PHI has been compromised...

• Oregon develops NPI and authentication data repository

  Concerned about the quality, availability, and completeness of CMS' NPI database, Oregon healthcare...

• Q&A: Consider security when transmitting data via e-mail, BlackBerry®, or Internet

  Editor's note: Chris Apgar is president of Apgar & Associates, LLC, in Portland, OR. He has more...

Issue 11, November 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How to handle an OCR investigation and other patient complaints

  A disgruntled patient accuses you of failing to protect her PHI, thereby violating her rights under...

• Make sense of the privacy rights of minors

  It is no secret that many state laws intersect with HIPAA requirements when it comes to disclosing...

• Notice of privacy practices? No problem

  Giving patients a notice of privacy practices might seem rather straightforward, but there are...

• Consider EpicTide's FairWarning for a proactive approach to security auditing

  This month's product watch focuses on what should be a significant area of concern for healthcare...

• Healthcare entities to face random OIG security audits

  Audits are a fact of life for healthcare entities, but the recent HIPAA security audit by HHS...

Issue 10, October 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Respond to a breach

  Despite the fact that your facility might do its best to protect patients' PHI, a security breach...

• Improve your HIPAA policies and procedures

  The HIPAA privacy and security rules have been enforceable for several years now, but many...

• HHS releases report about health information exchange

  Healthcare organizations should pay careful attention to a newly released report about state-level...

• AHRQ reports states' findings on HIE privacy and security

  Editor's note: Frank Ruelas, compliance officer and risk manager at Tempe St. Luke's Hospital in...

• Q&A: PHI storage, text messages, and off-site EHR access

  Editor's note: Chris Apgar is president of Apgar & Associates, LLC, in Portland, OR. He has more...

Issue 9, September 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Dissemination delays hamper NPI implementation

  Covered entities experienced the latest in a series of setbacks in obtaining data from the National...

• Domestic abuse complicates PHI disclosure rules

  Domestic abuse is a difficult matter with which health-care providers must occasionally contend...

• Keep your data transmissions private and secure

  This month's product watch focuses on HIPAA transaction processing and a product that addresses the...

• Make HIPAA work for you: Take a customer service approach for better public relations

  Every time a patient asks a question about HIPAA, your staff members have an obligation to answer...

• Q&A: Mental health and drug treatment disclosures, school vaccination records, and more

  Editor's note: Brandt is president of Brandt & Associates, Inc., a healthcare consulting firm in...

Issue 8, August 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The OCR on enforcement: Patients' rights get priority

  Patients have consistently complained to the OCR that they're having trouble accessing their...

• Q&A: State laws for making records available online, remittances, drug testing

  State laws for making records available online, remittances, and drug testing

• Watch for NPI pitfalls and database flaws

  When CMS published its long-awaited NPI data dissemination notice (also known as the national plan...

• Don't neglect HIPAA when renovating or rearranging

  Healthcare organizations considering renovating or adding new facilities should think about HIPAA...

• Don't forget security-protect patients and your business

  Physician practices are still struggling to comply with HIPAA, particularly the security rule. Many...

Issue 7, July 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• HIPAA is back in the headlines

  The initial rush to implement the privacy rule in 2003 and the security rule in 2005 thrust HIPAA...

• Build HIPAA into your overall compliance program

  One way to save time and money is to integrate your HIPAA compliance program with your other...

• Q&A: Subpoenas, reporting, and disciplinary action

  Editor's note: Brandt is president of Brandt & Associates, Inc., a healthcare consulting firm in...

• Fast-track your NPI implementation to stay compliant

  When CMS announced that it would not enforce the May 23 deadline for NPI implementation, many...

• Comply with HIPAA to comply with The Joint Commission

  When it seems impossible to get your organization to constantly comply with various rules and...

Issue 6, June 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ensure compliance in the long-term care setting

  All covered entities face the task of HIPAA compliance. However, long-term care (LTC) facilities...

• Avoid e-mail security breaches at your organization

  E-mail has become such an everyday tool that we rarely stop to consider the potential risks. But...

• Spice up your privacy and security training sessions

  When Glennda Gore, executive director of corporate compliance for McAlester (OK) Regional Health...

• Clear up the confusion surrounding minors' privacy

  Minors' privacy rights are a confusing aspect of HIPAA because they involve a tangle of state and...

• Q&A: Training, automatic logoff, and more

  Q&A: Training, automatic logoff, and more

Issue 5, May 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• OIG audits focus on security rule

  The Office of Inspector General (OIG) says it is in the process of conducting HIPAA audits of...

• Define your mailings to ensure privacy rule compliance

  Sending patients appointment reminders or other common mailings may seem like such a simple task...

• Prepare for failed hardware and data loss

  Availability-that needed information is available to the right individuals at the right time-is one...

• Shut the door on physical vulnerabilities

  The security rule has led many healthcare providers to upgrade antivirus software, properly set up...

• Q&A: Dependents, blanket authorizations, and more

  Editor's note: Brandt is president of Brandt & Associates, Inc., a healthcare consulting firm in...

Issue 4, April 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• NCVHS, WEDI urge delay in NPI implementation

  The vast majority of patients encounter the health-care system through small providers, such as...

• CMS issues security guidance to covered entities

  It's time to dust off and update your security policies regarding the use of laptops and other...

• Weigh the challenges when defining the legal health record

  Although defining the legal health record might previously have been a fairly straightforward...

• Avoid these ongoing compliance problems in your facility

  More than three years after the privacy rule's compliance date, there are still persistent...

Issue 3, March 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Refocus your efforts to train physicians

  It isn't news that many physicians are busy and uninterested in HIPAA-which can make training them...

• ApScan delivers customizable Web security testing

  Waltham, MA-based Watchfire's ApScan®-an application that performs automated Web application...

• Ensure security compliance without spending big bucks

  Tight budgets don't have to mean settling for less security. Most covered entities have more than...

• HISPC project aims at health information exchange

  A national effort to identify and break down the barriers to electronic health information exchange...

• Continuous assessments ensure success with security

  Many covered entities (CE) performed a risk analysis as part of their initial efforts to comply...

• Q&A: Appointment reminders, fax cover sheets, and more

  Editor's note: Brandt is president of Brandt & Associates, Inc., a healthcare consulting firm in...

Issue 2, February 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Decode vendor claims to avoid noncompliance

  Security software vendors often claim that their products offer an easy way to achieve HIPAA...

• Revisit disaster recovery now to avoid future problems

  The security rule requires that you develop a disaster recovery plan to protect and recover systems...

• Prepare for new federal rules on record retention

  Dust off that old record-retention policy. The U.S. Supreme Court recently made changes to the...

• Revisit the privacy rule's directory requirements

  Covered entities have had to comply with the privacy rule's directory provisions for almost three...

• Q&A: Encryption, physical security, and more

  Editor's note: Apgar is president of Portland, OR-based Apgar & Associates, LLC. He has more than...

Issue 1, January 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Raise the bar with metrics

  The good news-you have a robust security program in place that is well-supported by management...

• Secure messaging products can be worthwhile

  A common myth in the healthcare industry is that secure messaging is expensive and that there are...

• Take care when terminating your organizations BAAs

  Organizations continue to have trouble complying with HIPAA's BA provisions. Thirty-eight percent...

• Q&A: Answering machines, fax cover sheets, and more

  Editor's note: Brandt is president of Brandt & Associates, Inc., a healthcare consulting firm in...