Posts Tagged ‘HIPAA’
Beware of Racketeers Making Big Money on Patient Records – by Art Gross, President of HIPAA Secure Now
Armed robbery and drug trafficking are no longer the only crimes of choice for gangs. Instead of a gun, their newest weapon of choice is a mobile phone with Internet access. Now more sophisticated gang members are targeting medical practices and using their smart phones to steal patient records.
This is part of an organized crime ring that’s netting offenders up to $50,000 a night in stolen identities and false tax return filings.
It’s not uncommon for the friend of a gang member to infiltrate a medical practice, gain access to EHRs, download patient information and hand it over to the offender. That person will book a hotel room, set up a “team” and a cell phone bank, submit false tax returns online and generate huge profits in one night.
Florida is hotbed for this activity and it’s spreading across the country. In California, narcotics investigators took down a methamphetamine ring and confiscated 4,500 patient records. Investigators believe the stolen information was being used to obtain prescription drugs to make the illicit drug.
Stolen patient information will not only bring big Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) fines for data breaches; the additional direct and indirect expense of a breach can be financially catastrophic. But now there is a strong financial incentive to steal patient information – one lost or stolen patient record is valued at $50 on the black market.
Protect your practice. Medical practices need to realize they are vulnerable to security break-ins and should take steps to reduce their risk of stolen electronic protected health information by performing a risk assessment and identifying potential “leaks.” Here are the steps that organizations should take to protect this information
- Inventory patient information: Capture an inventory of where patient information is stored, accessed or transmitted. Most people think of an EHR as their only source of patient records but patient information can be in a Microsoft Word document in the form of patient letters, or Excel spreadsheets as billing reports or scanned images of Insurance Explanation of Benefits. These documents could be on desktops or laptops. Patient information could also be in emails or text messages in smartphones or tablets.
- Assess current security measures: A security risk assessment looks at how patient information is currently protected. How often does the practice perform data backups? Is there a termination procedure? Do employees have the minimum level of access to patient information? Are all portable devices secured and protected?
- Evaluate common threats to patient information: Physical risks, the likelihood of a threat and the impact of the threat if it occurs must also assessed. In addition to employees pilfering patient records, how are practices protecting information in the case of fire or flood, lost or stolen laptops containing patient information, sending emails to the wrong patient, to name a few. If the practice has patient information stored on laptops and physicians frequently take them out of the office and that information is not properly protected it may result in a large HIPAA fine – high risk with a high impact.
- Recommend additional security: A security risk assessment will identify additional security measures to prevent the likelihood of a threat and its impact. For example, limit who can take laptops out of the office, or ensure that they’re safely locked in a secured cabinet.
A thorough security risk assessment can help a medical practice identify the additional security or procedures needed to help lower the risk of common threats.
Art Gross is president and CEO of HIPAA Secure Now!
Key Elements of HIPAA Compliance by TechTarget
Always a good reminder as things continue to evolve in the healthcare world. Very good article by Richard E. Mackey, Jr., Contributor. As compliance becomes key, always continue learning.
HHS announces first HIPAA breach settlement involving less than 500 patients
Hospice of North Idaho settles HIPAA security case for $50,000
The Hospice of North Idaho (HONI) has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) $50,000 to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule. This is the first settlement involving a breach of unprotected electronic protected health information (ePHI) affecting fewer than 500 individuals.
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) began its investigation after HONI reported to HHS that an unencrypted laptop computer containing the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of 441 patients had been stolen in June 2010. Laptops containing ePHI are regularly used by the organization as part of their field work. Over the course of the investigation, OCR discovered that HONI had not conducted a risk analysis to safeguard ePHI. Further, HONI did not have in place policies or procedures to address mobile device security as required by the HIPAA Security Rule. Since the June 2010 theft, HONI has taken extensive additional steps to improve their HIPAA Privacy and Security compliance program.
“This action sends a strong message to the health care industry that, regardless of size, covered entities must take action and will be held accountable for safeguarding their patients’ health information.” said OCR Director Leon Rodriguez. “Encryption is an easy method for making lost information unusable, unreadable and undecipherable.”
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Breach Notification Rule requires covered entities to report an impermissible use or disclosure of protected health information, or a “breach,” of 500 individuals or more to the Secretary of HHS and the media within 60 days after the discovery of the breach. Smaller breaches affecting less than 500 individuals must be reported to the Secretary on an annual basis.
A new educational initiative, Mobile Devices: Know the RISKS. Take the STEPS. PROTECT and SECURE Health Information, has been launched by OCR and the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) that offers health care providers and organizations practical tips on ways to protect their patients’ health information when using mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. For more information, visit www.HealthIT.gov/mobiledevices.
The Resolution Agreement can be found on the OCR website at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/enforcement/examples/honi-agreement.pdf
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
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Last revised: January 2, 2013
Remember you have to have identity theft protection. A data breach can happen at any time. No matter what you do to protect yourself, your data can be exposed without your permission. Review The Identity Advocates protection services at: http://www.theidentityadvocate.com/identity-theft-protection.php
Medical Identity Theft – It can happen to you!
Think again if you believe Medical Identity Theft can’t happen to you. Watch this news clip from ABC news and Good Morning America:
Medical Identity Theft from a Victims Perspective
See Fox News clip on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz__DUISB6E&feature=player_embedded
Medical Identity Theft continues through other sources
Data breeches, mismanagement of files, lost hard drives, health plans are more at risk, not just hospitals for identity theft. Last month, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee revealed that up to 1 million patients could be impacted by the theft of 57 computer hard drives that were encoded but not encrypted.
Read article by Caralyn Davis at: http://www.fiercehealthpayer.com/story/data-breaches-another-opportunity-bad-publicity/2010-05-17?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal#ixzz0oEOm6c5P
