A web and video conferencing and collaboration platform, WebEx allows businesses connect with remote workers and partners as if they are working on site. Using utilities like WebEx, healthcare groups can interact quickly and easily with the workforce, no matter where...

Dropbox is a widely-used file hosting service operated by many organizations to share files, but what about protected health information? Is the service HIPAA compliant? Dropbox beleives it now supports HIPAA and HITECH Act compliance but that does not mean Dropbox is...

In May, the global WannaCry ransomware attacks resulted in more than 230,000 computers being infected and encrypted. There were also a high number of other IT security incidents reported to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR)....

The Privacy and Security Rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) place a number of requirements on healthcare organizations and other covered entities, such as stipulating allowable uses and disclosures of Protected Health Information...

The Federal Communication Commission has released a Declaratory Ruling and Order to clear up any confusion the rules in relation to HIPAA and patient telephone calls. Some healthcare suppliers have had difficulty with the rules regarding HIPAA and patient telephone...

The following article considers the use, benefits and disadvantages of e-signatures in the healthcare industry, and whether they are compliant with HIPAA rules. The increasing utilisation of digital signatures in the healthcare industry increases the efficiency of...

The Security Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) reqiores that all covered bodies put in place the appropriate administrative, physical and technical safeguards to keep PHI secure. Failure to adopt those basic minimum...

Calculating the cost of a HIPAA data violation is not a simple process, at least not until a number of years after a data breach happened. Corrective actions must be taken following a data breach, and the cost of notification and damage mitigation can escalate....

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is one of the most important pieces of legislation in recent years in regard to the healthcare industry. In spite of its importance, many healthcare providers and insurers remain unaware of many HIPAA...

  Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube have the potential to lead to HIPAA breaches as they allow people to stay connected and share information with their friends, families, acquaintances, and in some cases, total strangers. Any...

The HIPAA Omnibus Rule was passed in March this year, although the OCR gave covered bodies a grace period in which to bring their organizations strategies and procedures up to date with the new regulations. The Omnibus Rule amended HIPAA to cover Business Associates...

The Omnibus Final Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act came into effect on March 26, after a long period of amendments, deliveration and adjustments. The main aim of the new legislation is to amend the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules and...

The passing of the Omnibus Final Rule, also referred to as the HIPAA Mega Rule due to the extent of that it amends the current legislation, clears up many loose ends that were in place from the HIPAA Privacy Rule in relation to marketing. The use of Protected Health...

Financial sanctions for healthcare organizations found in breach of HIPAA regulations are to be raised substantially as part of the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, which will also be applied to business associates and their subcontractors. The original fine structure was...