Category: Security

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services anticipates that it will take healthcare organizations a shade under 33 million hours to comply with the modified HIPAA Omnibus rule, published last January. In other words, providers have A LOT of work ahead of them, particularly with the deadline now two weeks away. read more Source:…

With only two weeks to go before organizations must meet HIPAA compliance under the omnibus rule published in January, questions about liability–who’s responsible and for what–are becoming increasingly frequent, according to Kathy Kudner, a healthcare attorney with law firm Dykem Gossett. read more Source: HIPAA compliance: Questions linger about liability

A new study from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) has looked at the relationship between health information laws and health system improvements for children and adolescents under Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit. A new study from the George Washington University School of Public…

Healthcare organizations will spend 32.8 million hours complying with the modified HIPAA omnibus rule, according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. read more Source: Estimated HIPAA compliance time toll a whopping 32.8 million hours

Meanwhile, in regard to a separate issue, West Virginia’s attorney general is criticizing the Department of Health and Human Services for not responding to questions about navigator privacy concerns. Source: GOP lawmakers’ request for info about navigators may slow process

Data analytics offers the opportunity to sift through the mounds of information government agencies collect, but oversight entities and law enforcement are challenged in their efforts to use the data effectively to address fraud, waste and abuse. read more Source: Forum addresses impediments to data-sharing to detect fraud

There is no question that the resources required to process, analyze, and manage petabytes of genomic information represent a huge burden for even the largest academic research facility or healthcare institution. That burden becomes even greater when one factors in the need to handle these data in compliance with an alphabet soup of regulatory regimes:…

The Federal Trade Commission last week filed a complaint against an Atlanta-based medical testing laboratory for its mishandling of patient information for roughly 10,000 individuals in two separate incidents. read more Source: FTC: Lab’s lack of security puts info for 10,0000 patients at risk

Approximately 600 patients at UT Physicians, the medical group practice of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, have been notified that some of their health information has been compromised after an unencrypted laptop was discovered missing on Aug. 2 from a locked closet in a UT Physicians orthopedic clinic.…

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Monday the nation will hit its debt limit in mid-October, setting up a potential clash between the White House and some House Republicans who say they will tie their votes on raising the debt ceiling to defunding the health law. Also in the news, a survey of business economists cites…