Health Information Management

All I want for Christmas is ... no breaches, a little respect

HIM-HIPAA Insider, December 14, 2015

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!

It's December. And that means gift-giving.

What should you want for presents this holiday season if you're a HIPAA privacy officer, information security officer (ISO), or compliance officer?

How about no breaches? Everyone completing their training modules on time? No surprise visits from OCR?

All good things.

We caught up with a couple of experts in the industry on what would make the best gifts for those charged with protecting patient privacy in their healthcare facilities.

Kate Borten, CISSP, CISM, HCISPP, founder of The Marblehead Group in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and a BOH editorial advisory board member, offers these gifts:

  • For privacy officers: No reportable breaches this year.
  • For ISOs: Proper recognition of an ISO's value to an organization. Full-time employment with a reasonable budget and staff.
  • For compliance officers: No knocks on the door from OCR.


"In 2015 and into 2016, I think risks will continue to grow and morph with new angles, and breaches will continue with the good guys playing catch-up," Borten says. "Our security and privacy programs have and will inch forward, but we haven't seen and won't see any major leap in protections and program maturity."

This article was originally published in Briefings on HIPAA. Subscribers can access the full article in the December 2015 issue.



Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!

    Briefings on APCs

  • Briefings on APCs

    Worried about the complexities of the new rules under OPPS and APCs? Briefings on APCs helps you understand the new rules...

  • HIM Briefings

    Guiding Health Information Management professionals through the continuously changing field of medical records and toward a...

  • Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies

    Submitting improper Medicare documentation can lead to denial of fees, payback, fines, and increased diligence from payers...

  • Briefings on HIPAA

    How can you minimize the impact of HIPAA? Subscribe to Briefings on HIPAA, your health information management resource for...

  • APCs Insider

    This HTML-based e-mail newsletter provides weekly tips and advice on the new ambulatory payment classifications regulations...

Most Popular