Although the HHS HIPAA Breach Reporting Tool (HBRT) has been out since 2009, the revised and updated web tool is head and shoulders above the original. You can look for information on reported data breaches in your industry sector, what kinds of data breaches took place and the status as relates to HHS / OCR.
The tool is also educational, letting you see what actions OCR investigations initiated to resolve the vulnerabilities that let the breach happen in the first place. The hope is that the industry will use this information to help strengthen organizational security.
HBRT’s new features include:
- Breaches reported in last 24 hours
- Breaches currently under investigation
- Archive of breach resolution
- Better navigation to get to more breach information
- Consumer Help links if you think your privacy’s been breached
According to HHS, the updated and enhanced HBRT tool will continue to expand and improve. The HBRT encourages transparency to the general public and between organizations covered by HIPAA requirements. Its use helps emphasize how the privacy and security of our sensitive health information must remain at the forefront of covered entity and business associate operations.
You can review the updated HBRT here. For information and links on when and how to report a breach, visit the HHS’s Breach Reporting page.
Apgar and Associates, LLC helps you on your compliance journey, including helping you implement and improve your privacy, information security and cybersecurity programs. Let’s begin with a security risk analysis to see where your risks lie. Call 503-384-2538 to get started.
First published as an eblast, July 2017.
