American consumers need to know that personal health records must follow government-mandated guidelines for ensuring privacy and security, just as is the case for electronic health records. Otherwise, the use of PHRs may never become widespread.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has sued health insurer WellPoint Inc., alleging the firm took too long to notify Indiana residents affected by a health information breach.
More than five million Americans have been affected by major health information breaches since September 2009, according to the official federal tally of major incidents.
Two affiliated insurance plans serving Medicaid patients in Pennsylvania have reported the loss of an unencrypted portal flash drive with information on 280,000 members.
Healthcare organizations need to improve the methods they use to objectively assess the severity of a security incident and whether it should be reported to comply with the HITECH Act's breach notification rule, one privacy officer says.
In the year since the breach notification rule for personal health records took effect, no major breaches affecting 500 or more individuals have been reported, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
For the second time in recent weeks, organizations with ties to the Mayo Clinic have announced staff firings as a result of inappropriate access to confidential personal health information.
Healthcare organizations need to improve the methods they use to objectively assess the severity of a security incident and whether it should be reported, says David Parks, a privacy officer and attorney.
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