Tag Archives: ePHI

Defend Against the CryptoLocker Virus

The “CryptoLocker” virus has been making a great deal of noise lately. Though we at Thom Infotech have not personally encountered it, we know others who have. We’ve written this post to help you to understand and defend against the CryptoLocker virus. What is it? CryptoLocker is an insidious twist on the all-too-familiar virus or […]

Advocate Healthcare HIPAA Breach Results in Class Action Lawsuit

Reports of HIPAA breach incidents are nothing new. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) stipulates that healthcare providers, insurance companies, and those who serve them (also known as “Business Associates”) take extensive measures to protect the Protected Health Information (PHI) of their patients. Even the dearly departed are protected from such disclosures. For this […]

Most HIPAA Breaches are Caused by Employees

It has been said that the most difficult interface to secure is the one between the chair and the keyboard. This bit of “nerd humor” actually has its basis in fact. Art Gross has written a very informative post titled “Your employees will cause your next HIPAA breach” concerning the most common cause of HIPAA […]

Six people fired from Cedars-Sinai over patient privacy breach

According to the LA Times, five workers and a student research assistant were fired in the wake of a patient privacy breach affecting the patient medical records of 14 patients. According to a statement released by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the 14 patient records were “inappropriately accessed” between June 18 and June 24. Four of those […]

WellPoint Fined $1.7M For ePHI Disclosure

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that the managed care company WellPoint, Inc. had agreed to pay a fine of $1.7 million to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy and security rules. Like nearly all HHS fines, this case sends […]

Idaho State University fined $400,000 for skipping HIPAA Security Risk Analysis

Skipped HIPAA Security Risk Analysis costs ISU $400,000 IT consultants and Managed IT service providers have been warning their clients that the HIPAA Security Risk Analysis is a very necessary component in their efforts to comply with the HIPAA rule. Some of our medical clients and prospects agree, while others are skeptical about the need […]

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.