Featured Report: Healthcare Security Issue

Q&A: Health orgs don't protect patient data for reasons going 'back to the industrial revolution'
Government Health IT
Dec,06,2012
by: Tom Sullivan
Three out of five healthcare organizations are not allocating enough resources to protect patient data – and among the reasons is a simple fact that the industry has no way to place a value on that information. That’s according to Rick Kam, president and co-founder of ID Experts, which sponsored the Ponemon Institute’s third annual benchmark "Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security," published on Dec.6. Prior to the report’s release, Government Health IT Editor Tom Sullivan spoke with Kam and Ponemon Institute Chairman Larry Ponemon about the survey's alarming statistics, the potential dangers of criminal social-engineering and why healthcare as an industry is so far behind in terms of safeguarding data.
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This Week's Healthcare News

Healthcare Info Security
HIPAA Modifications: How to Prepare
Dec,14,2012
by: Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
Healthcare organizations need to more closely monitor how their business associates protect the security of patient information and step up risk assessments as they prepare to comply with looming HIPAA modifications, says attorney Lisa Sotto. As proposed, the long-overdue HIPAA modifications, which may be released in the coming weeks, would require business associates and their subcontractors to comply with the HIPAA Security Rule.
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iHealthBeat
ONC Releases New Resources on Securing Mobile Health Data
Dec,13,2012
by: Staff
On Wednesday, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT launched an educational website to help health care providers better protect health data on mobile devices, Modern Healthcare reports (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 12/12). ONC developed the online resources in response to comments it received during its Mobile Device Roundtable in March (Pulley, NextGov, 12/12).
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Fierce Health IT
HIMSS: Hospitals spending more to ensure data privacy, security
Dec,13, 2012
by: Dan Bowman
Privacy and security budgets at most healthcare organizations have increased during the past year, according to responses to HIMSS' fifth annual security survey, unveiled this week. More than half (56 percent) of the 303 health IT and security professionals queried said that their organization has increased the amount of IT budget allocated for information security, although 47 percent of respondents said that their organization spends 3 percent or less of the overall IT budget on such measures. Still, more than three-fourths of respondents said that their organization conducted formal risk analyses to examine risks to patient data. Of those, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) did so on an a year-to-year basis. Additionally, 64 percent of overall respondents said that their organization conducted an audit of the IT security plan, with 65 percent of those respondents doing so annually.
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Small Business Healthcare Consortium

Hello Small Business Owners,
I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do. That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC).

This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority. And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC, I am personally inviting you and asking you to invite your network of small businesses to participate in a one hour, educational free webinar about the Affordable Care Act on January 15th at 11:00am CST or January 16th at 3:30pm CST. Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of this free webinar to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. It will discuss the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Follow this link to register for:
January 15th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq

January 16th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits. Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side. As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage.

The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. Please register:
January 15th, 11am CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq
January 16th, 3:30pm CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

And, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas. Reach me at 312-286-8416 email wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology Healthcare IT Serives at www.wireheadtec.com/Home.html Find a listing of our SBHCC Steering Committee members at: www.cbhconline.org/smallbusiness .

Sincerely,
Howard Lee CIO
Wirehead Technology

If you need answers to your Healthcare IT needs now visit our Healthcare Managed Services page at Wirehead Technology