How to Harden Laptops, Tablets & Smartphones to Protect PHI

harden devices protect phi

When your goal is to protect PHI on laptops and mobile devices, keep in mind that information security is only as strong as its weakest link. Lenient information security standards exponentially increases the risk to sensitive healthcare data. It can also place you in non-compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule. On top of that the … Read more

Privacy & Security Forum Update: OCR Activity, Audit Protocols, Ransomware & the HIPAA Security Rule

Julia and I had the pleasure of attending the 2018 Privacy & Security Forum a couple of weeks ago.  One of the sessions I attended was focused on what’s happening at OCR these days.  The speaker was Roger Severino, Director of OCR, and the moderator was Adam Greene, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP.  I … Read more

Who has access to PHI? Should they?

That was the title of an early January eblast to our subscribers where we talked about insider risk and audit controls. Then OCR sends out an email about a recent $5.5 million settlement with Memorial Healthcare Systems (MHS) about PHI being “impermissibly accessed” and “impermissibly disclosed” to doctors’ staff. The email serves as an expensive … Read more