HIPAAtrek Blog
Refresh your HIPAA know-how.
Is the Telehealth you’ve adopted secure?
Many patients and providers who would not have normally considered telehealth as a regular way to access healthcare are now utilizing the services. Many patients are afraid to go the hospital or doctor office in fear of exposing themselves and loved ones to Covid-19. Luckily, doctors can still reach their patients and provide medical care online. After this pandemic is over, many suspect that telehealth will still be sticking around. Now may be a good time to consider how to make your telehealth services more secure.
Double Extortion-What it is and how you can prevent it
If organizations refuse to pay their ransom, attackers are threatening to release the data publicly. This will of course include sensitive information and PHI. Before Double Extortion, we assumed that hackers could not actually access our data and were only with-holding it from victims to disrupt the ability to continue their work. Now we know they can extract this information and publish it online, breaching our patient’s security.
HIPAA Enforcement Discretion Announcement for COVID-19 Testing
On April 9, 2020, the OCR announced it will use its enforcement discretion for Community Based Testing Sites for COVID-19 testing. The enforcement discretion is being retro-dated to March 13, 2020 and will remain active as long as the public health emergency...
Video Conferencing Security in Healthcare During COVID-19
With the increase in use of remote work and telehealth, cybercriminal activity and video conference hijacking are also increasing. On April 2, 2020, the FBI released an article on defending against video conference hijacking. This is particularly important information...
Cybersecurity During COVID-19
Watch out for COVID-19 cyber scams Sarah Badahman, CHPSE, Founder/CEO, HIPAAtrek Bethany Baty, Digital Marketing Director, HIPAAtrek Margaret Scavotto, JD, CHC, President, MPA The Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)...
Telehealth During COVID-19
Sarah Badahman, CHPSE, Founder/CEO, HIPAAtrek Bethany Baty, Digital Marketing Director, HIPAAtrek Margaret Scavotto, JD, CHC, President, MPA On March 17, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth Remote...
Business Associate Disclosures During COVID-19
Written By: Margaret Scavotto, MPA and Sarah Badahman, HIPAAtrek On April 2, 2020, the OCR issued a Notification of Enforcement Discretion under HIPAA to Allow Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information by Business Associates for Public Health and Health...
Facilitating Remote Work During the Coronavirus Pandemic
As the nation continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we work together to help facilitate the effort to contain and prevent. An integral part of this effort is requiring staff to work remotely, this includes compliance professionals. At...
Coronavirus Disclosure: Pitfalls to Avoid
COVID-19 is a national emergency. Healthcare providers and public health agencies are working in overdrive to prevent the further spread of the virus. As healthcare professionals are identifying new cases of COVID-19, they are following the required protocols for notifying public health agencies and alerting those that may be at risk of exposure to the virus.
Disclosures Involving the Coronavirus Pandemic
While healthcare facilities are preparing for the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals are facing increased workloads. Healthcare providers are required to report cases of COVID-19 to public health agencies as a part of the response effort. It is still important to remember that Minimum Necessary policies and other privacy and security requirements must remain in place.