Featured Articles
What Does it Mean to be #CyberSmart?
Cyber safety begins with good cyber hygiene. All internet-connected devices are possible entry points for a cybercriminal. And the need for diligence increases exponentially as the volume of connected devices in healthcare provider organizations, both within the...
When the Police Come Knocking
by Selena Chavis For many years, the health care industry has been well versed in the parameters of sharing protected health information (PHI) with law enforcement. But even with the best training, HIM professionals, compliance staff, and clinicians still find...
Patient Access and the Path to Compliance
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule generally requires HIPAA covered entities—health plans and most healthcare providers—to provide individuals, upon request, with access to protected health information (PHI) about them in one...
Preparing for HIPAA Changes in IT, HIM, Compliance and Privacy
Rita Bowen, vice president of privacy, compliance and HIM policy at MRO, a clinical data workflow solutions company, discusses how proposed new rules can impact healthcare provider organizations.[dnxte_button button_text="View Full Article" button_link=""...
Enterprise-wide PHI Disclosure Management: What Risk Managers Need to Know
Managing demands for secure disclosure of protected health information (PHI) has become more complex as each department within a health care organization potentially represents a point of disclosure. Multiple disclosure points place organizations at risk for privacy...
Building New Policies and Procedures to Incorporate Telehealth
Over the past year, telehealth has expanded through support from federal and state measures intended to increase access during the pandemic. In February 2021, a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act to the US...
Bracing for potential records request change in the Privacy Rule
Covered entities (CEs) that have flirted with the 30-day mark for response time with patient requests for access to or copies of their protected health information (PHI) should take notice: they may need to get better. Two times better, that is. The Department of...
Leading a Release of Information Business During Extraordinary Times
When the impact of the pandemic upended the status quo in March 2020, health systems and organizations needed to completely change their operations and adopt a remote environment almost overnight. As a result, release of information (ROI) had to move employees out of...
Could HIPAA Changes Weaken Patient Privacy?
Proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule could weaken patient data privacy protections, say Rita Bowen and Zachary Perry of the Association of Health Information Outsourcing Services. A notice of proposed rulemaking from the Department of Health and Human Services...