Staying Clear of Health Information Breaches

Did you know that 2.7 million Americans were affected from around 32 major health information breach incidents recently? The bulk of the people were affected by the information breach that occurred with the Insurer Health Net and its business associate IBM. The Federal list released on June 22^nd lists all the major healthcare information breaches that occurred from September 2009 wherein somewhere to the tune of around 11 million individuals were affected. The Health information breaches continued unabated with firstly the health net incident followed closely with the theft of a desktop computer at the Eisenhower medical center that compromised information security of over 5, 00,000 individuals.


There was large number of information security breaches since 2009 ranging from thefts of hard drives (BlueCross Blueshield of Tennessee), laptop (AvMed), and backup tapes (New York City Health &Hospitals Corp.) resulting in compromising sensitive medical and health information of millions of people. Even as the full and final version of the HITECH breach notification rule is expected to be released later this year as part of an ‘omnibus’ package that would include several rules, the current version requires that organizations should conduct risk assessment to determine any incident that could be a potential threat and if it does cause harm, the eventual breach must be reported.


So is it really that difficult for healthcare organizations to take the right action as far mitigating such information risks are concerned? Actually no! It is not difficult if a prudent medical practitioner or healthcare enterprise owner ensures that healthcare compliance measures are in place by adopting the appropriate HITECH compliance solution. All that a healthcare organization needs to do is to enforce such a security policy that can restrict any unauthorized access. SecureGRC, an automated compliance solution from eGestalt, can help healthcare organizations deal with their compliance woes comprehensively. The solution is so designed that it can identify, remediate and maintain HIPAA and HITECH compliance for all healthcare organizations that handle Patient Health Information.


SecureGRC is equipped to help healthcare organizations achieve and maintain compliance to regulations set forth in both HIPAA and HITECH acts. Additionally, since the solution can be delivered via Cloud, not requiring any custom hardware investments, the compliance solution is actually future-proof! The solution not only automates the audit process but also provides concrete evidence of what risks need to be addressed and also how it should be addressed. eGestalt makes it easy to stay clear of Health information breaches with its fully optimized solution that addresses all healthcare compliance issues.


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Why should every medical practice be HIPAA compliant?

The HIPAA act is a regulation that sees to it that healthcare professionals, insurance enterprises and other medical practitioners understand the importance of handling, transmitting, and safeguarding the usage of patient information in the best possible manner. Being HIPAA compliant means having to abide as per its stringent regulatory measures and comprehending the importance of the security of patient health information. The act covers all issues regarding healthcare medical insurance, abuse of patient health information and it provides decided guidelines that can ably protect the interests of patients. To have a trouble-free medical practice, medical practitioners need to ensure that they are HIPAA compliant.

HIPAA standardizes healthcare transactions and understands the problems that patients may face. It therefore also includes some regulations about tax security for health savings accounts. It also has certain specifications that direct specific people on the way to handle life insurance premium deductions from tax returns. Medical practitioners should ensure that their systems are updated as per the HIPAA regulations to avoid any sort of security breaches that may compromise any sort of patient information data. So even if you are a thriving private medical practitioner you would do well to ensure that only your authorized personnel have access to patient health information and they too should be made to understand the importance of the rules of regulatory healthcare compliance. In case your staff are new to the concept it becomes the duty of the medical practitioner to ensure that the staff are educated about the different measures and different ways to protect patient information and also caution them regarding the abuse of such information that can have disastrous results for the practitioner as well as the practice itself.

Additionally, all staff dealing with such information should be made to understand that any kind of unsuitable disclosure of confidential health information of patient can be dangerous for them as well, wherein they could be held liable for abuse of patient information and be dishonorably discharged from their duties and also be asked to pay penalties for the same. The penalties that medical practitioners have to face can be pretty serious; it can range from fines of close to $25,000 a year for different violations to even $250,000. In some cases the offending parties can be imprisoned as well that could go to as high as 10 years in prison especially in cases where in there is glaring evidence of deliberate abuse of the confidential patient health data and information.

Given such serious penalties it is better that every medical practitioner understands the importance of being HIPAA compliant and therefore employs the necessary solutions and systems to maintain a healthcare regulatory compliant medical practice.

Know more information about - compliance management software and IT security compliance management here.

Why should every medical practice be HIPAA compliant?

The HIPAA act is a regulation that sees to it that healthcare professionals, insurance enterprises and other medical practitioners understand the importance of handling, transmitting, and safeguarding the usage of patient information in the best possible manner. Being HIPAA compliant means having to abide as per its stringent regulatory measures and comprehending the importance of the security of patient health information. The act covers all issues regarding healthcare medical insurance, abuse of patient health information and it provides decided guidelines that can ably protect the interests of patients. To have a trouble-free medical practice, medical practitioners need to ensure that they are HIPAA compliant. 

HIPAA standardizes healthcare transactions and understands the problems that patients may face. It therefore also includes some regulations about tax security for health savings accounts. It also has certain specifications that direct specific people on the way to handle life insurance premium deductions from tax returns. Medical practitioners should ensure that their systems are updated as per the HIPAA regulations to avoid any sort of security breaches that may compromise any sort of patient information data. So even if you are a thriving private medical practitioner you would do well to ensure that only your authorized personnel have access to patient health information and they too should be made to understand the importance of the rules of regulatory healthcare compliance. In case your staff are new to the concept it becomes the duty of the medical practitioner to ensure that the staff are educated about the different measures and different ways to protect patient information and also caution them regarding the abuse of such information that can have disastrous results for the practitioner as well as the practice itself. 

Additionally, all staff dealing with such information should be made to understand that any kind of unsuitable disclosure of confidential health information of patient can be dangerous for them as well, wherein they could be held liable for abuse of patient information and be dishonorably discharged from their duties and also be asked to pay penalties for the same. The penalties that medical practitioners have to face can be pretty serious; it can range from fines of close to $25,000 a year for different violations to even $250,000. In some cases the offending parties can be imprisoned as well that could go to as high as 10 years in prison especially in cases where in there is glaring evidence of deliberate abuse of the confidential patient health data and information. 

Given such serious penalties it is better that every medical practitioner understands the importance of being HIPAA compliant and therefore employs the necessary solutions and systems to maintain a healthcare regulatory compliant medical practice. 

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Healthcare compliance requirements made Simple

Healthcare professionals often have to deal with quite a lot of healthcare compliance requirements connected to different operational procedures, service delivery practices, and managing of records. The general regulatory compliance requirements and industry standards include HIPAA, HITECH compliance and other health safety regulations as indicated by state and national healthcare administration. This is done to be assured that all medical practitioners and providers maintain and ensure safety of personal health records. The HITECH Act which stands for Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) came into effect on February 17, 2009 with the objective of funding the expansion of a nationalized health information infrastructure that could ably improve health care and protect the utilization of health information. Meant to further enhance the security measures of the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), everyone from healthcare providers, medical practitioners etc, came under the ambit of HITECH.

Healthcare professionals need to ensure that they have a comprehensive compliance program that provides them a solution that can address their compliance requirements. The first and foremost health compliance requirement for a healthcare provider is to equip themselves with such a compliance solution that can handle efficient auditing processes to handle all errors connected with medical bills. Additionally, it should be optimized enough to handle all compliance requirements with ease. Evaluating risks is another thing that the solution should offer by way of handling the documentation processes involved in abiding as per the compliance regulations. The healthcare provider must opt for such a solution that can guarantee to keep them abreast of all the new regulations that may keep cropping up within the healthcare compliance sphere. Data protection is another area of concern and the solution should cater to this as well. 

The new healthcare compliance requirements has set certain factors that requires all healthcare providers become HIPAA-HITECH compliant else they can be liable for penalties. Non-compliance will result in healthcare providers not getting any financial benefits. Violation of health information privacy rules will also result in heavy penalties. Getting your entire set of compliance requirements outsourced is also another way of ensuring that your compliance standards are met efficiently. Building an all-inclusive security structure can be extremely valuable for any healthcare provider since it will protect the provider from any security breach. Healthcare providers should opt for a solution that promises great value for money and is truly effective in every sense of the word. 

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Improving Business Prospects with PCI Compliance Adherence

The use of credit cards for any financial transaction has given customers the freedom to spend anywhere anytime without the fear of being robbed or losing any money. Every business has understood the significance of credit cards in enhanced commercial relations. It is a huge impetus for the business when a trader provides the credit card facility for the convenience of their customers.

However the use of these cards without any prohibiting precautions has led to its blatant misuse. This definitely causes distress to the customers and also affects the business adversely. A business that is unable to control any security breaches and threats will lose its customers if appropriate and decisive action is not implemented on time. These security issues should be taken seriously from the very beginning so that there are no major disasters leading to ultimate consequences.

As per industry regulations, every business that is involved in credit card transactions has to enforce robust security measures to comply with the PCI-DSS compliance standards. It has been observed that most of the times the credit card data that is stored is not protected or the system lacks in credible protection parameters. The companies do not take the pains to undertake effective scanning procedures for detection of any unusual movements or vulnerabilities existent in software. Security breaches can also occur when companies cannot prevent the data from entering the less secured zones in the network.

It has also been seen that the encryption methods are not reliable as they do not perform consistently. The practice of keeping records of the activities going on in the network has not been followed meticulously by all, thus providing an ideal condition for unauthorized and illegal entries. It is a matter of grave concern for a business if there is any occurrence of credit card fraud and misuse. It needs to immediately employ remediation measures to ensure blockage of unwanted entities.

Nothing can be better than an automated IT security compliance process that has the qualities to meet the PCI compliance requirements and address all security concerns responsibly. It helps you to quickly assess whether the needed controls are effectively in place through a dashboard perspective, quickly drilling down to areas of concern. 

The compliance solution provides real-time, highly-cost effective, on demand services off the cloud which helps businesses to remain compliant with the latest regulations. Businesses can expect high returns without making any large investments. It encourages integration with a single and centralized management system. It generates prompt reports through the dashboards. With an active, robust and consistent compliance solution a business need not fear of faltering in the PCI compliance area and succumbing to unpredictable and sometimes debilitating results!

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Assured and Safe Recovery with Healthcare Compliance Solutions

Driven by competition, business ethics has become a casualty... Most of these business practices are pursued with deceptive motives, and there is hardly any remorse for the impact that they have. .

Patients share their confidential information with their healthcare providers in the hope of receiving the best treatment and regaining their health. Unfortunately the healthcare organizations have proved incompetent to safeguard their patients’ personal health information from prying eyes, endangering the lives of many due to careless mistakes and unhealthy practices. Healthcare practices end up with unhealthy practices!

The compliance standards followed in many healthcare organizations rarely help them qualify the criteria for providing a secure and risk-free environment. Many have suffered financially due to expensive penalties and some have lost their reputed stature in society. Yet, lessons have not been learnt and felonies are still being committed. The innocent patients face severe consequences due to the careless and negligent attitude of these healthcare providers.

Now, it is time to end the reign of practices that are careless in handling the health care information with intense compliance metrics. To put an end to these careless activities, healthcare organizations require a compliance management system with stringent enforcements. The responsibility of the compliance system does not end with only compliance  but extends to assessing the situation and making advanced preparations for any anticipatory threats. The system should have the best tracking and monitoring capabilities.

The federal government’s insistence on HIPAA / HITECH compliance has made it mandatory for every healthcare organization to demonstrate a vigilant compliance outlook. The employment of the compliance management software ensures best practices for achieving compliance. The software provides for automated processes that takes care of all security related issues and institutes a thorough and effective management of governance, risk and compliance. It provides real-time relevant and updated information. It has a supportive reporting system that delivers timely analysis of the existing compliance status.

The compliance policies of the business are automatically updated and revised as per the desired norms and the software helps in integrating with several other compliance frameworks without any contradictions. This helps the healthcare organizations to remain in sync with the industry regulated compliance frameworks. The software focuses on maintaining a record of all activities for auditing purposes. Healthcare organizations can apparently make their vision of providing an ideally secure healthcare environment a reality for their patients. 

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