By Dan Gospe When conducting HIPAA consultations for dentists, this is one of the most common questions I am asked: “How, exactly, does HIPAA apply to me?” HIPAA is designed to protect patient data on a huge scale. It is
$2.2 Million HIPAA Fine Levied on Insurance Company
After an unencrypted USB drive was stolen from a life insurance company, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) – the enforcement arm of HIPAA – levied a $2.2 million fine. But the fine was not levied directly in response to the theft.
Dental HIPAA Compliance – 5 Common Mistakes
By Dan Gospe For dentists, HIPAA compliance is often overlooked. HIPAA is a broad law, meant to cover all practices from the small, 2-operatory practice, to the large hospital-level enterprise. Although you may not have the same breadth of patient
HHS: Patients CAN receive unencrypted email with PHI under some circumstances
by Dan Gospe In a recent clarification by the HHS, patients can receive unencrypted email containing their Protected Health Information (PHI) as long as a few measures are taken for compliance. In these Guidelines from HHS, the patient has a right to obtain their records
Three HIPAA Violations, and How to Avoid Them
By Dan Gospe HIPAA violations are becoming a more common occurrence in medical practices, and are set to become even more common in 2016: OCR, the enforcement end of HIPAA, requested a sizable budget increase for 2016 in order to address increasing concerns of non-compliant
FTC: False Claims of Dentrix G5 Encryption Leads to Fine
This month, the FTC has levied a fine against Henry Schein, Inc, for misleading claims about Dentrix G5 encryption. The issue cited by the FTC involved marketing on the Dentrix G5 brochure, claiming that HIPAA and NIST compliant encryption was in
No Risk Assessment? Fine of $750K Imposed!
According to HealthIT Security, University of Washington Medicine paid a $750,000 fine in 2013 for having no risk assessment in their records. UWM came under the eye of the Office of Civil Rights after a breach involving a malicious email containing malware, which
HIPAA Compliance for Dentists
Dentists are considered Covered Entities under HIPAA, which means that at the root, rules for privacy, security and enforcement are the same as those of a large health system. This can be an overwhelming fact for a dental practices, as they
Most Common Data Breach – Physical Theft
According to the California Attorney General’s Office, physical theft of unencrypted datastores is the most common data breach for dental practices. Astoundingly, over 50% of all HIPAA violations occured from physical theft of a device. These devices either held patient
Dental HIPAA Compliance in a Small Practice
While there’s no fundamental difference in the rules between dental HIPAA compliance for a small practice and compliance for larger entities, adapting the rules to your small dental practice doesn’t have to be as overwhelming a task as it would be in