Some 275,000 individuals served by a variety of healthcare sector organizations had data exposed as a result of a breach at Houston-based billing and debt collection vendor Benefit Recovery Specialists Inc. A breach at another debt collection vendor last year wound up affecting more than 20 million individuals.
The Department of Health and Human Services' privacy and security regulatory priorities for the rest of this year include tackling some long-stalled projects. Here's a rundown of the to-do list.
Why are some breach notifications delayed for months? This week, a company that operates senior care facilities in North Carolina and South Carolina issued a statement offering a step-by-step explanation.
A lawsuit filed against a small Georgia hospital by four of its nurses who allege the facility "schemed to manufacture false negative COVID-19 test results" for several patients who previously tested positive is shining a light on delicate issues involving whistleblowers and the privacy of patient records.
If the lifting of telehealth restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic becomes permanent through new legislation or changes in government policies, what would be the potential impact on patient data privacy and security?
As healthcare organizations seek out recovered COVID-19 patients for potential donations of blood plasma containing virus antibodies to help treat other patients, they need to ensure these outreach activities comply with HIPAA privacy regulations, according to new federal guidance.
As businesses reopen, they need to carefully consider the privacy, security and legal implications of collecting COVID-19 related information from customers, employees and other individuals, says privacy attorney Iliana Peters of the law firm Polsinelli.
Healthcare organizations need to diligently assess whether a security incident involving patient information truly qualifies as a reportable breach under HIPAA to avoid needlessly reporting it to federal regulators, says regulatory attorney Helen Oscislawski.
The American Medical Association has issued a set of privacy principles for health data that it hopes Congress and regulators will keep in mind as they prepare legislation and regulations. In an interview, AMA Board Chair Jesse Ehrenfeld, M.D., describes the recommendations.
Phishing scams continue to be a leading cause of health data breaches so far this year. But the theft of unencrypted laptops led to the biggest breach reported in 2020, and an insider breach involving a physician exposed data on thousands of patients.
Federal regulators are alerting healthcare organizations about an array of coronavirus-themed cyberthreats. Plus, they're advising them to avoid potential HIPAA privacy violations involving unauthorized disclosures of patient information to news outlets during the COVID-19 crisis.
Three recently disclosed health data security incidents - including the discovery of a large email hack that happened nearly a year ago - serve as reminders of the ongoing incident response challenges facing healthcare organizations. And these difficulties are likely to worsen during the COVID-19 crisis.
The use of telehealth is ramping up as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the latest arrest in connection with a $410 million healthcare fraud case that includes a multi-million dollar telemedicine-related fraud scheme serves as a cautionary tale of how fraudsters can abuse telehealth.
How long will it be until breaches related to COVID-19-related scams begin showing up on the Department of Health and Human Services' HIPAA breach reporting website? Experts offer their opinions.
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