Though the vast majority of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) cases are still in China, the virus continues to spread around the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 11 confirmed cases in the United States, 206 negative results, 76 results pending and zero deaths, as of February 5, 2020. According to the … Read more
All hospitals across the country would have to report when they close their doors to ambulances or may eventually face federal funding cuts, under a bill introduced Thursday in Congress, according to the Milwaukee Journal Standard. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/2020/01/30/hospitals-must-report-when-they-turn-away-ambulances-under-new-bill/4615861002/ The bill, authored by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., would also direct federal health officials to study ambulance … Read more
Cyber-security firm KnowBe4 is warning that coronavirus is becoming the hottest new topic for cyber-scammers. They advise: The worldwide spread of the new Coronavirus is being used by bad guys to scare people into clicking on links, open malicious attachments, or give out confidential information. Be careful with anything related to the Coronavirus: emails, attachments, … Read more
January 28, 2020 Important Notice Regarding Individuals’ Right of Access to Health Records On January 25, 2013, HHS published a final rule entitled “Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act; Other Modifications to the HIPAA Rules.” … Read more
More than 71% of medical devices and 56% of healthcare organizations still use Windows 7 and haven’t seen any reason to scrap the older, but reliable version of the Windows operating system… but as of today, January 15, 2020, you better start worrying. As of today, Microsoft has discontinued security updates for this senior citizen … Read more
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is announcing its second enforcement action and settlement under its HIPAA1 Right of Access Initiative. OCR announced this initiative earlier this year promising to vigorously enforce the rights of patients to get access to their medical records promptly, without being … Read more
DEA Warns Public of Extortion Scam by DEA Special Agent Impersonators The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning the public including the DEA registrant community to include practitioners and pharmacies about criminals posing as DEA Special Agents, DEA Investigators or other law enforcement personnel as part of an international extortion scheme. The criminals call the victims … Read more
On January 14, 2020, Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 7. So what? Well, if you are in the medical community, it could mean the choice between spending big money on updating the operating systems of your medical devices or facing the constant attacks of hackers with vulnerable, out-dated software. Some hospitals have updated medical equipment … Read more
In an agreement with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Sentara Hospitals (Sentara) have agreed to take corrective actions and pay $2.175 million to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Breach Notification and Privacy Rules. Sentara is comprised of … Read more
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has imposed a $1,600,000 civil money penalty against the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (TX HHSC), for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules between 2013 and 2017. TX … Read more