Help Me With HIPAA

As is our custom, each year we have a halloween-themed episode. This year we are thrilled to bring you several very real Tales From The Dark Side Of HIPAA.  Thanks to our friend, Jack Rhysider from DarkNet Diaries for recording our haunting lead-in! More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/227

Social media and PHI get the OCR spotlight in the latest settlement announced.  Reading these settlement agreements provide the best guidance from OCR which is why we always take the time to get those details for you.  How much have you considered about your social media policies and how your staff understands their responsibilities? More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/226

Is there such a thing as bad luck breaches?  Most of us don't expect luck to rule our world although I will always take good luck if I can get it.  But when bad things happen sometimes we say it is due to a string of bad luck. Can data breaches be due to one of those strings of bad luck? For more info go to HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/225

The first patient access settlement has been announced by OCR.  Director Severino mentioned they would be putting an emphasis on this issue and we now have the first enforcement come through.  What should you learn from this settlement? It included some interesting corrective action requirements. More HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/224

January 14, 2020 marks the end of life for Windows 7 and Windows 2008 operating systems. Have you done your SRA to make sure you have things covered? What about home computers, should you be worried about those? In this episode we review what this end of life for Windows OS means and what you should be doing in the 4th quarter of 2019 to prepare for it. More at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/223

We always talk about the need for a culture of compliance or culture of privacy and security. Today we talk about 6 things you notice when you have built a culture of compliance. The 6 comes from 3 x 2 which means there is clearly no rhyme or reason for the selection today. More at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/222

When working on a plan for this episode I had two different sources drop some insider breach issues in my lap.  When I added those to the news stories we are already following involving insider issues, it was clear the topic was meant to be.  Multiple cases and reports are out — the topic I must cover is because I am reading about insider breaches everywhere around me. More at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/...

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) and it is a perfect tool to feature security awareness with your workforce and clients.  You can not beat an opportunity to run a month long awareness program that provides EVERYTHING you need for free.  Today we discuss what the program includes and how to use it in your office. More at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/220

We discussed the patient rights to access medical records a few episodes ago.  Since then, a new study came out that says a majority of providers are not complying with patient medical records requests.  I have also gotten more questions about law firms demanding to pay only $6.50 for medical records requests. We are  discussing these issues with specifics about fees for patient requests in this e...

When you work with outsourced IT or Managed Service Providers (MSPs) you need to vet them closely to make sure they truly do understand what HIPAA requires from your organization.  Here are seven questions to ask your IT team about HIPAA. For more info go to HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/218

The Ponemon Institute has produced an annual study of data breach costs. This is the 14th year. We have used it as a guide for a lot of information over the years. The data has consistently been helpful for us to understand what are the key drivers in data breach costs, remediation, and response. If you can find what the major factors include, it is a great way to determine your priorities in inve...

Who is a business associate? A listener asked for an episode on it. Turns out we haven't done one since episode 2.  Wow!  So, maybe there is more we have to add to that topic in 2019 after 214 other episodes.  Today, let's talk about how to determine who is your Business Associates or BA. More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/216

We have gotten a flurry of listener questions and comments lately.  Since it is so much easier to do an episode based you listener questions that writing up a whole plan we are definitely doing those today.    We really do read and respond to as many as we can. So here we go. More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/215

If you haven't heard of it before there is a thing called the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) .  It is considered the first version of a GDPR-type legislation on this side of the pond.   It becomes effective Jan 1, 2020. There are many folks that think the CCPA isn't something for them to worry about.  Well... Maybe you should take a second to reconsider that position. More at HelpMeWithHIP...

Today we discuss 5 medical record uses and disclosures rules that I have been covering recently in training.  Medical records are always around for those of us in healthcare. It is so easy to forget that the rules apply to more than just data breaches and social media.  There are some very basic concepts that people who have been dealing with medical records for years are surprised to learn. Here...

We need to keep up with our education just like everyone else to keep up with cybersecurity tips and trends.  Donna hit some training at SecureWorld and sat in on a 6-hr online seminar offered by Dark Reading. All of that thinking and learning means we have cybersecurity tips and trends to share in this episode.  This is not just for those who worry about HIPAA. More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/21...

The debate continues in ransomware attacks, do you make the ransom payment or not?  Lately, we have seen many payments being announced. This should be in your incident response plan ransomware playbook.  These decisions should be discussed now, not when an attack happens. What are the pros and cons to paying and what should be in your ransomware response plans? More info on Help Me With HIPAA blog...

False claims settlements over meaningful use money have popped into the news again. The provider was sued by whistleblowers and the DOJ for not doing a security risk analysis but attesting to one to get the meaningful use payments anyway. There is whistleblower's angle in this case which makes it even more interesting. If you know anyone that has received any meaningful use money they should check...

This new BA guidance from OCR is important because it defines clearly all the things we hear misstated over and over.  Several of our Top 10 Wrong HIPAA Statements episode are addressed in the simple ten item list. Today we will discuss the announcement and what does that mean to BAs and their privacy and security programs. More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/209

The multi-state settlement with Medical Informatics Engineering makes the OCR settlement seem like a cake walk.  The vendor agrees to pay OCR $100,000 with a standard 2-year corrective action plan. The states get $900,000 plus 5 years of very specific corrective action requirements.  Vendors need to pay attention to this case and take appropriate action now. More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/208

Sanction policies are often vague or even overlooked in many privacy and security programs.  The whole point of a sanction policy is to list out the consequences for failure to follow our policies and procedures.  With a vague or non-existent policy consequences aren't clear which leads to a lack of concern for failure to follow the policy in the first place.  You will never build a culture that w...

Maturity is something we expect from respected folks or grown folks but what about your privacy and security program, do you check it's maturity?  You have all of these plans, policies, procedures, and training but is it actually meeting your needs? Time to talk maturity assessments. More at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/206

The latest HIPAA violation settlement with OCR was announced recently.  Ironically, the settlement with Touchstone Medical Imaging was for $3,000,000 and announced just after the reduction of maximum penalties was announced by HHS.  Just how bad was this violation to get hit with this level of penalties plus the 2-year corrective action plan? More at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/205

Headlines everywhere are telling us all that the HIPAA penalties are being "slashed" or "capped" or "reduced".  What is the real story and what does it mean to the rest of us? Great time to talk about what you should consider if you think you will be facing any HIPAA penalties. More info at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/204

We have talked many times about vetting business associates.  When people talk about supply chain security it isn't just the business associate you contract with you have to worry about.  It is all the vendors that they use. Today we are going to review 3 supply chain stories that explain how complex your supply chain unbeknownst to you. More at HelpMeWithHIPAA.com/203