Aug 8, 2013
InSPN Quarterly Meeting
Topic: TBA - MEETING LOCATION: Auditorium on the first floor in One America Tower, One American Square, Indianapolis, IN 46282 - MEETING AGENDA: Registration & Networking (8:00-8:30am) Reports (8:30) a. Legal and Regulatory Update b. Report from the Security Subcommittee c. Report from Privacy Subcommittee d. Other Announcements Followed by KEYNOTE SPEAKER (commence approximately 9:00am) and Questions & Answers. Lunch discussion of current topics. Please Register as soon as possible. Seating is limited. Cost is $25 per meeting or Annual Membership fee of $75. Free for current members. More | Register now!
Nov 14, 2013
InSPN Quarterly Meeting & Vendor Fair
Topic: TBA - MEETING LOCATION: Auditorium on the first floor in One America Tower, One American Square, Indianapolis, IN 46282 - MEETING AGENDA: Registration & Networking (8:00-8:30am) Reports (8:30) a. Legal and Regulatory Update b. Report from the Security Subcommittee c. Report from Privacy Subcommittee d. Other Announcements Followed by KEYNOTE SPEAKER (commence approximately 9:00am) and Questions & Answers. Lunch discussion of current topics. Please Register as soon as possible. Seating is limited. Cost is $25 per meeting or Annual Membership fee of $75. Free for current members. More | Register now!
Mar 20, 2013
Feds ask firms about HIPAA audit experience
By Joseph Conn Posted: March 20, 2013 - 12:01 am ET The top federal healthcare privacy and security regulator wants to know what officials from more than 100 organizations that have undergone privacy and security audits thought of the process and what can be done to improve it. The office will ask leaders from all audited organizations—which included health plans, healthcare claims clearinghouses and providers—to complete an online survey asking them to “measure the effect,” including its costs, on their operations, and “gauge their attitudes towards the audit overall,” according to a notice of an official “information collection” activity (PDF) to be published in the Federal Register by the Office for Civil Rights at HHS. The civil rights office, the chief enforcer of the privacy and security rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was given the added task of conducting random privacy and security rule compliance audits under the more stringent HIPAA rules revisions contained in health information technology provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The office wrapped up its first round of 115 audits under the new law in December. There is no word yet when a final report on the results of those audits will be released, according to a civil rights office spokeswoman Wednesday, but in an earlier interview, OCR Director Leon Rodriguez said “a good number of them” indicated providers had not performed HIPAA-required security risk analyses. The office estimates that responding to the survey will take about two hours for each of the organizations to complete. Read MORE: Feds ask firms about HIPAA audit experience | Modern Healthcare More >>
Jan 18, 2013
NEW RULE PROTECTS PATIENT PRIVACY, SECURES HEALTH INFORMATION
January 17, 2013 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a new rule to strengthen the privacy and security protections for health information established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The final omnibus rule greatly enhances a patient’s privacy protections, provides individuals new rights to their health information, and strengthens the government’s ability to enforce the law. The changes in the final rulemaking provide the public with increased protection and control of personal health information. The changes announced today expand many of the privacy and security requirements to business associates that receive protected health information, such as contractors and subcontractors. Business associates may also be liable for the increased penalties for noncompliance based on the level of negligence up to a maximum penalty of $1.5 million. The changes also strengthen the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Breach Notification requirements by clarifying when breaches of unsecured health information must be reported to HHS. Individual rights are expanded in important ways. Patients can ask for a copy of their electronic medical record in an electronic form. When individuals pay by cash they can instruct their provider not to share information about their treatment with their health plan. The final omnibus rule sets new limits on how information is used and disclosed for marketing and fundraising purposes, and prohibits the sale of an individual’s health information without their permission. The final omnibus rule is based on statutory changes under the HITECH Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) which clarifies that genetic information is protected under the HIPAA Privacy Rule and prohibits most health plans from using or disclosing genetic information for underwriting purposes. >>>>>Go to MORE for the HHS Press Release <<<<< More >>
Jan 2, 2013
HHS announces first HIPAA breach settlement involving less than 500 patients
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. This is the first settlement involving a breach of unprotected electronic protected health information (ePHI) affecting fewer than 500 individuals. SEE MORE More >>