News & Events

The HIPAA Security Rule allows healthcare providers to secure PHI while still adopting new technologies to improve patient care.

What Healthcare Providers Must Know About the New HIPAA Security Rule

This post, What Healthcare Providers Must Know About the HIPAA Security Rule, first appeared on https://healthitsecurity.com. Healthcare organizations are facing increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity attacks, which is pushing entities to remain vigilant in keeping protected health in formation (PHI) secure. The HIPAA Security Rule is a national standard that can help organizations maintain current and comprehensive healthcare data security. Established in 2003, the HIPAA Security Rule was designed “to protect the privacy of individuals’ health information while […]

Read More
Lawmakers seek OSHA standard on workplace violence prevention in health care

Lawmakers seek OSHA standard on workplace violence prevention in health care

This post, Lawmakers seek OSHA standard on workplace violence prevention in health care, first appeared on http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and 12 other House Democrats have introduced legislation intended to curb workplace violence in health care facilities. The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act, introduced March 8, would direct OSHA to create a standard that would require health care facilities to develop and implement facility- and unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans. According to the […]

Read More

HHS announces $3.5 million HIPAA settlement with Fresenius resolving five breach reports

This post, HHS announces $3.5 million HIPAA settlement with Fresenius resolving five breach reports, first appeared on https://www.natlawreview.com/. Friday, February 2, 2018 Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), a provider of products and services for people with chronic kidney failure, has agreed to pay $3.5 million to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and adopt a comprehensive corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the Health […]

Read More
HHS releases limited HIPAA waiver during Hurricane Harvey: 5 things to know,

HHS releases limited HIPAA waiver during Hurricane Harvey: 5 things to know

This post, HHS releases limited HIPAA waiver during Hurricane Harvey: 5 things to know, first appeared on http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/. Written by Jessica Kim Cohen | August 30, 2017 HHS issued a limited waiver of HIPAA sanctions and penalties during Hurricane Harvey, which HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, declared a public health emergency in Texas Aug. 26 and Louisiana Aug. 28. The HIPAA Privacy Rule cannot be suspended during emergencies. However, the HHS secretary may waive certain provisions […]

Read More
Recent Events Increase the Importance of HIPAA Risk Analyses and HIPAA Policies

Recent Events Increase the Importance of HIPAA Risk Analyses and HIPAA Policies

This post, Recent Events Increase the Importance of HIPAA Risk Analyses and HIPAA Policies, first appeared on http://www.jdsupra.com/. August 23, 2017 Recent events highlight the fact that threats to customer and patient data continue to increase. In recent months, government agencies, news outlets, and others have spent considerable time investigating and reporting on major worldwide ransomware attacks, including the “Petya” and “WannaCry” events. Moreover, numerous companies have reported significant malware or security breach events, including InterContinental Hotels […]

Read More

Palmetto Health fined for mishandling hazardous waste

This post, Palmetto Health fined for mishandling hazardous waste, first appeared on http://www.thestate.com/. By Jeff Wilkinson [email protected] August 15, 2017 1:32 PM The Palmetto Health Richland has been fined $28,000 by DHEC for mishandling hazardous materials. Among the violations were that hospital staff failed to keep containers holding hazardous waste closed during storage; failed to mark containers of hazardous waste; failed to maintain aisle space to allow the unobstructed movement of personnel and emergency equipment; and […]

Read More
Sharps injuries, Providers face new reporting requirements

Sharps Injuries – Providers face new reporting requirements

This post, Sharps Injuries – Providers face new reporting requirements, first appeared on http://www.repertoiremag.com/. New reporting requirements from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration may make it easier to ascertain just how many sharps injuries and/or needlesticks are incurred every year by healthcare workers. The agency is betting that the requirements will “nudge” providers to take extra steps to safeguard their employees. Under the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers must provide their workers with […]

Read More
Couple Expecting Gifts From Amazon Receive Bag Of Medical Waste Instead

Couple Expecting Gifts From Amazon Receive Bag Of Medical Waste Instead

This post, Couple Expecting Gifts From Amazon Receive Bag Of Medical Waste Instead, first appeared on http://dailycaller.com/. Eric Lieberman Tech and Law Reporter 5:09 PM 07/18/2017 A couple from New Hampshire reportedly opened a box from Amazon over the weekend, but instead of seeing the products they ordered, they received a bag of medical waste. Danielle McKenzie said her husband first noticed that something was awry when he was able to smell the container, WHDH Boston reports. After opening […]

Read More

You are entitled to leave your EMR vendor — and take your data with you

This post, You are entitled to leave your EMR vendor — and take your data with you, first appeared on http://www.mcknights.com/. Josh Pickus July 05, 2017 EMR vendors that are providing cloud-based products and services to long-term care providers are required by law to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of protected health information. Unfortunately, there continue to be situations where EMR vendors are holding data hostage to discourage providers from switching to a different vendor.* […]

Read More
Awrel releases enterprise version of HIPAA-compliant texting app

Awrel releases enterprise version of HIPAA-compliant texting app

This post, Awrel releases enterprise version of HIPAA-compliant texting app, first appeared on http://www.dentistryiq.com/. June 28, 2017 By DentistryIQ Editors New version of HIPAA-compliant texting application to help large dental practices, labs, and device companies reduce risk when sharing protected health information.  Awrel, a Boston-based dental software-as-a-service provider, recently released Awrel Enterprise, a new enterprise version of its HIPAA-compliant texting and desktop solution. The solution meets demand from corporate dental practices, dental labs, and dental device […]

Read More