Humans are naturally curious creatures. Simply put, wondering about our world and the other people living in it is basic human nature. For some people, celebrities are mere commodities, but for others, they’re modern marvels. Some people can’t help but be curious about the lives of the rich and famous—all the while, the itch to snoop and snitch on celebs is detrimental for those employed in health care. HIPAA laws are privacy laws in the […]
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Businesses Administering COVID-19 Vaccine Are at Risk for Mishandling Biomedical Waste
On April 30, 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement office issued a memorandum titled “Strengthening Enforcement in Communities with Environmental Justice Concerns.” In light of the Biden administration’s recent focus on environmental justice and other social responsibility initiatives within environmental regulation, there is heightened scrutiny around compliance with environmental requirements; therefore, supermarkets, box stores, and other commercial businesses administering COVID-19 vaccines should consider the reputational risk of improper handling and disposal of medical […]
Read MoreCVS Exposes Over a Billion Health Records in an Unsecured Cloud Database Leak
Healthcare giant CVS exposed over a billion health records via a misconfigured cloud database leak. The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based health services provider owns CVS Pharmacy, CVS Caremark, and Aetna. Website Planet’s security researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered the database leak while conducting routine internet scanning for exposed cloud databases. Fowler said the database did not have any authentication mechanisms or an access password. Exposed health records could help attackers target users The 204 GB leaked database contained just […]
Read MoreOSHA Considerations for Employers in Year Two of the COVID-19 Pandemic
All employers should review and implement the all-industries guidance, and healthcare employers should take steps now to implement the ETS. All employers should be mindful of the health and safety of their workforce and worksites, including reviewing and evaluating updated COVID-19 guidance issued by OSHA for all industries, and its Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) applicable only to healthcare employers. Both of these pronouncements were issued by OSHA on June 10, 2021. In this article, we […]
Read MoreWhy Clinical Lab HIPAA Settlement Is Significant
A federal $25,000 HIPAA settlement with a clinical laboratory is significant because it calls for a wide-ranging corrective action plan. And the enforcement action is unusual because it’s the result of a compliance review of a covered entity not directly tied to the data breach that triggered the investigation. Under the settlement, Peachstate Health Management LLC, a Georgia-based clinical laboratory company, must implement comprehensive reforms of its HIPAA Security Rule compliance program and designate an […]
Read MoreOCR Announces Settlement with Clinical Lab for Alleged HIPAA Violations
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) this week announced a settlement with Peachstate Health Management LLC (aka AEON Clinical Laboratories) following a compliance review that uncovered alleged violations of HIPAA. The settlement includes a $25,000 payment to OCR by Peachstate, a corrective action plan, and three years of monitoring by OCR. OCR initiated a compliance review of Peachstate in December 2017 to determine its compliance with HIPAA following a report of a data breach by […]
Read MoreIs It a HIPAA Violation to Ask About a COVID Vaccine? Here’s What Experts Say
Asking someone about their COVID-19 vaccination status can be a touchy subject. While some are happy to chat about being vaccinated, others want to keep that information private. Some, including Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have claimed that being asked about their vaccination status is a HIPAA violation. But others have said that’s not actually true. So what’s really going on here? Read on for what you need to know. What is HIPAA, again? You’re […]
Read More‘Still some way to go’ to protect nurses from sharps injuries, warns RCN
Pandemic pressures, alongside staff fatigue and stress, are the most likely causes of a “high incidence” of sharps injuries among nurses in the past year, a report from the Royal College of Nursing has suggested. The fact that not all nurses have access to safer sharps or appropriate training and education could also be a contributing factor, said the report, which is based on responses from more than 7,500 RCN members. The report, called Blood […]
Read MoreDoes a Vaccine Passport Violate HIPAA? + More on Vaccine Passports
Private companies are developing vaccine passports, and businesses across the U.S. are debating whether to mandate them. The following articles on vaccine passports have been published by Becker’s Hospital Review: Fauci: US won’t mandate vaccine passports Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Politico‘s “Dispatch” podcast that the federal government will not mandate COVID-19 vaccine passports for businesses or events, but private companies will decide whether they adopt […]
Read MoreWhy the COVID-19 Waste Management is Complicated
The COVID-19 pandemic instantly increased demand for some types of medical waste management, such as the disposal of personal protective equipment and testing supplies. Waste management companies met this challenge last year, but it required a lot of flexibility, they said. This year, health care providers have to dispose millions of needles and empty vaccine vials. But a shortage of sharps containers, the plastic buckets in which clinicians throw away old syringes and vials, is […]
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