Computer Policy

HIPAA Whistleblowers

by HIPAA Admin on April 26, 2012

in HIPAA Headlines

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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Emory Data Breach, Same Old Excuses

by HIPAA Admin on April 25, 2012

in HIPAA Headlines

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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The Cloud and HIPAA

by HIPAA Admin on April 18, 2012

in HIPAA Headlines

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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My PHI Breach Part 1

by HIPAA Admin on November 22, 2011

in HIPAA Headlines

It is not unusual for me to rant here about the ridiculous level of recklessness the medical community has for our PHI. Specifically, the easiest thing to point out, as it happens all the time, is the “theft” (or loss) of a portable storage device. For those keeping score, a portable storage device is anything [...]

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Sutter Breach Notes

by HIPAA Admin on November 21, 2011

in HIPAA Headlines

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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