Joint Commission Keeps Ban on Use of Secure Text Messaging for Patient Care Orders: HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes
In its December 2016 newsletter, the Joint Commission (formerly known as “JCAHO”) specified that its ban on the use of secure text messaging platforms for .. read more
New California Breach Notification Law: HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes
Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a California bill regarding breach notification, A.B. 2828, amending California Civil Code §§ 1798.29(a) and 1798.82(a) so that, .. read more
Illinois Joins California in Affording More Protection to Personal Information: HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes
In May, the Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, signed amendments to the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”), 815 ILCS 530/1 et seq., expanding the .. read more
California Determines What Is Reasonable and Appropriate for Securing Health Information: HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes
HIPAA requires covered entities and business associates to implement reasonable and appropriate security measures in § 164.308(a)(1)(ii)(B), the risk management Administrative safeguards, but although it does .. read more
Latest HIPAA Violation Settlement–$850,000 for a Stolen Laptop: HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes
I don’t understand why, with all the high six-figure and seven-figure resolution agreements (basically, settlements), covered entities do not provide adequate security for laptops and .. read more
Latest HIPAA Settlement—a Lesson Still Not Learned: HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes
Although most civil money penalties (“CMPs”) to date have involved risk analysis—that is, failure to do one, failure to do a complete one, or failure .. read more
Does DHHS Expect Email Encryption? HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes, along with guest commentator Brent Sadler, CIO at Veterans Press
One of our HIPAA clients/customers asked the following question through our Veterans Press website: “We have clients’ identifiable information that needs to be sent via .. read more
Some Good News and an Apology: HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes
The good news is that I purchased Richard Dvorak’s half interest in Veterans Press and its wholly owned subsidiary, EMR Legal (the consulting arm of .. read more
Are Passwords Sufficient Equivalent Alternate Measures to Encryption? HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes with Guest Commentator Michael B. O’Hara
I was recently asked a question by national HIPAA expert Jon Tomes concerning whether or not medical professionals should encrypt hard drives on their laptops .. read more
Can You Encrypt an iPad? HIPAA & HITECH Act Blog by Jonathan P. Tomes
A client recently asked me whether her organization could encrypt iPads that contained PHI. The answer is yes. Encryption, of course, is an addressable implementation .. read more
