Category: Security

Can a subcontractor expect to keep the job after accidentally posting protected health information of some 15,000 patients online? A Boston teaching hospital says, ‘definitely not.’ The 496-bed Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts has fired third-party vendor MDF Transcription after hospital officials discovered the company posted health records and demographic data of 15,000 patients to…

0 Another day, another HIPAA breach at a healthcare organization has been a theme for the health IT industry lately. Now is the time for organizations to implement preventative methods—rather than reactive ones— if they want the PHI attacks to cease. Another day, another HIPAA breach at a healthcare organization. Unfortunately, from a data security…

With stricter HIPAA audits on the horizon, the threat of the Federal Trade Commission also cracking down on breaches and the notorious Heartbleed bug looming, you would think the healthcare industry–and provider organizations, in particular–would take any measures necessary to ensure, or at least improve, privacy and security. That, however, does not appear to be…

A report released on April 29 by Javelin Strategy and Research has found that a high percentage of consumers avoid doing businesses that have experienced data breaches. The report focuses on three industries: healthcare, as well as the financial and retail sectors. A report released on April 29 by Javelin Strategy and Research has found…

Hospital equipment is ridiculously easy to hack into, and the industry isn’t doing enough to assess the risks, a security expert warns in an article at Wired. Essentia Health, which operates… read more …read more    

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services or Congress should work to expand the limited range of permitted activity in marketing low-cost, low-risk devices requiring a prescription, according to David Harlow, a Boston-based health attorney and FierceHealthIT Editorial Advisory Board member. read more …read more    

Truven Health Analytics, a leading provider of healthcare analytics and data solutions and services, today announced the acquisition of Fortel Analytics’ healthcare fraud technology. The acquisition gives Truven Health exclusive access to a breakthrough suite of predictive solutions, analysis methods and analytic technology designed to quickly identify suspicious patterns in healthcare insurance claims data before…

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently issued a warning to healthcare organizations that their IT systems and medical devices were at risk for increased attacks from hackers due to lax cybersecurity standards and practices. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently issued a warning to healthcare organizations that their IT systems and medical devices…

Even though we’ve had 15 years to address the issue, most companies still question whether they are HIPAA compliant. In fact, a survey by eFax found that more than half of companies polled are concerned about HIPAA compliance. By Tim Dubes, senior manager, Enterprise Marketing, eFax Corporate …read more    

Fed privacy enforcers sock health org with $1.7M penalty The HHS Office for Civil Rights hits Concentra Health Services(TX) with a $1.7 million fine over a data breach that stems from an unencrypted stolen laptop. Within the announcement, OCR states, “Our message to these organizations is simple: Encryption is your best defense against these incidents.”…