Just like in any profession, there is a desire by the government to have whistle-blowers. A whistle-blower makes the job of policing much easier for the government. The whistle-blower will get job protection (if they want to stay on) and typically a percentage of any fines. Remember, HIPAA fines can be huge! Let’s take a [...]
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Does anyone know the #1 reason for a PHI data breach? That’s right, a lost or stolen storage device that is not encrypted. Follow on question: what is the only Safe Harbor for a lost or stolen storage device? Encryption! So, the worst offender is an un-encrypted storage device, yet one of the easiest things [...]
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You know you’ve heard this term used, “The Cloud” is a favorite right now. Salespeople use it to sound cool. End users say it to sound cool. Every web startup out there uses it to sound relevant. For most practices, The Cloud can be used in two ways: You use a web based, software as [...]
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It wasn’t long ago that I was having a “discussion” with somebody about the use of smart phones by physicians. This discussion wasn’t that a smart phone is not a useful tool, but that in a medical office a smart phone is not a professional device. First the easy answer… You are out-and-about and get [...]
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As I’ve preached before, if you are going to store PHI on a mobile device (laptop, external hard drive, etc), you better make sure that you encrypt the hard drive. Typically, I am less concerned about desktop PC’s and servers as, you should have proper physical security systems in place. The recent Sutter Medical Foundation [...]
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