Minimize Risk: Healthcare’s Need to Address the Unknown Unknowns

risk management

Government agencies – state and federal – have spent the past several months trying to get healthcare’s attention about cybersecurity and simple steps that organizations can take to reduce their risk of ransomware (aka minimize risk). “There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that … Read more

Audit Log Monitoring: Tiresome But Oh-So-Necessary

audit-log-monitoring

Audit log monitoring is probably one of the most unsexy, uninteresting activities a healthcare organization or business associate has to do.  But neglect it at the risk of your solid bottom line and reputation. Last time we talked about how you can get into legal (and costly) hot water with badly aligned policies and procedures … Read more

Teleworking Safely: Precautions for Working Remotely during COVID-19

COVID-19 Teleworking Safety Tips

As we cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to take a few extra measures to protect your organization, your patients and clients, and your data. Teleworking, where more and more individuals are working remotely, is widely accepted to prevent further spread of the virus. Now is a good time to address the risks that … Read more

Should you trust Alexa with your health information?

alexa HIPAA health info privacy

By now you’ve likely heard that Amazon is moving into the HIPAA space with Alexa.  In conjunction with their partners, they’re launching what Amazon calls “HIPAA compliant” apps.  If only it were that easy to create a HIPAA covered app, or as Amazon calls it, skill.  As with Amazon Web Services (AWS) it’s ultimately up … Read more

Who needs to comply with the CCPA? Hint: Not only California.

CCPA Who Needs to Comply

The first thing to realize about California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) compliance is that you don’t have to be a California-based business to be affected. As of 2018, California was the world’s 5th largest economy. You’re better off to ask yourself what the chances that you’re not subject to the CCPA. US-based or global, you … Read more

Consumers in the Regulatory Driver’s Seat: Protecting Personal Data Privacy

protect personal data privacy

Consumers on the warpath to protect personal data privacy are making strides in state houses. For instance, here’s an update on Oregon’s Senate Bill 703 re selling health information. If you use Big Data at all, you’ve probably been following this Bill. It’s basically saying that anyone selling personal health information, although thoroughly de-identified, would … Read more

Data Privacy & Security: 2018 Reflections & the Year Ahead

2018 its a wrap data privacy

It’s been a tumultuous 2018 for data privacy and information security. New regulations here and abroad show that data privacy will continue to be a hot topic as we move into 2019. We’re seeing the OCR’s investigations and penalties aren’t limited to large entities or to large breaches. Expect that will continue. Over 60 organizations … Read more