The Nemadji Research Corp., a patient eligibility and billing service based in Minnesota, announced that the protected health information of thousands of patients may have been exposed earlier this year after a Nemadji employee fell victim to a phishing attack.
Q: We still use a color-coded filing system at my organization that uses specific colors to identify patient types, like whether an individual is a Medicaid/CHIP patient. These files are mostly used for billing documentation. Because the colors identify patient type, would this be considered a HIPAA violation?
Q: If I provide telehealth services to patients using video conferencing, how can I make sure these video sessions are compliant with HIPAA’s Security Rule?
A recent HIPAA breach that involved transmission of PHI to only one party—a reporter—nonetheless cost a Connecticut practice $125,000, in part because the practice didn’t take simple precautions.
Blockchain technology solutions have recently become a hot topic in the healthcare industry. Before considering blockchain as a future security solution, it is important to understand what it is, how it could work for medical facilities, and what the risks and benefits are.
A Senate bill aims to create regulations that would fill in gaps left by HIPAA to protect consumers’ private health data collected by health tracking devices, apps, and DNA testing kits.
Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc., an Indiana-based medical records service has agreed to a $100,000 settlement with OCR and a $900,000 multi-state settlement with 16 state attorney general offices for a HIPAA breach that compromised the protected health information of approximately 3.5 million people.
