Compliance Corner
PHNS is committed to the confidentiality and security of our customers’ and their patients’ information. The weekly Compliance Corner Reminders are designed to refresh PHNS employees’ memories about their valuable roles in privacy and security under HIPAA and other federal and state laws.
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- 03/09/2010
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- Compliance Corner - Remote Worksite Security
- Category: Update
HIPAA's privacy and security rules protect patient-specific information and apply no matter where the information is being accessed - on-site at a facility or off-site at a remote location, such as your home. How can you protect the privacy and security of the data and information you use at the remote site?
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- 02/26/2010
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- Data Breaches Now Public
- Category: Update
As required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, this week the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) posted a summary of data breaches that affected 500 or more individuals per breach. A total of 36 reports were received from 35 organizations that have reported breach situations.
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- 02/22/2010
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- Your Compliance Connection Newsletter February 2010 - Additional Changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules
- Category: Newsletter
On Februrary 17th, additional changes to the HIPAA privacy and security rules went into effect. This issue of Your Compliance Connection will focus on those changes and how they affect PHNS.
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- 02/19/2010
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- Just the Minimum Necessary
- Category: Update
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was passed last year as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Included in HITECH were significant changes to the HIPAA privacy and security rules. One change to the privacy rule that became effective 2/17/10 involves the minimum necessary standard.
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- 02/11/2010
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- California Data Breaches
- Category: Update
On January 1, 2009, California enacted one of the toughest data breach notification laws. Providers must report to the patient and to the state any breach of unsecured protected health information within five business days of becoming aware of the breach.
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- 02/05/2010
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- You've Got E-Mail!
- Category: Update
Just as a diamond may last forever, so too can an e-mail. A sent e-mail remains in cold, hard electronic print for as long as the recipient chooses. Without supporting context, the e-mail speaks for itself and can sometimes send the wrong message.
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- 01/29/2010
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- Is Your Password 123456?
- Category: Update
We use passwords to access information systems at work, to access personal banking information, to operate our home security system. The list is endless. But how safe and secure are your passwords?
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- 01/22/2010
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- Only You Can Stop Verbal Breaches!
- Category: Update
Be extra careful when verbally releasing patient-specific information. Remember to make sure you are speaking to or releasing information to authorized individuals. Always be aware of your immediate surroundings before speaking.
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- 01/18/2010
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- Your Compliance Connection for January 2010
- Category: Newsletter
This issue of "Your Compliance Connection" presents information on a variety of topics: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the National Health Security Strategy (NHSS) and social media risks.
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- 01/15/2010
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- HIPAA Violation Lawsuit
- Category: Update
In February of last year, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) gave state attorneys general the power to prosecute HIPAA privacy and security violations at the state level. In what may be the first time this power is exercised, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on January 13, 2010 filed a lawsuit charging Heath Net of Connecticut Inc. with violations of the HIPAA privacy and security rules following a large breach of identifiable medical records and Social Security numbers.
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