Weekly round-up: Yet another breach, privacy and security update

Beth Walsh, Editor, CMIO

This is certainly a disturbing trend: this week’s news brought yet another data breach to the forefront. This time, an unauthorized user gained access to and encrypted the server of a small Midwestern surgical practice and essentially held the information hostage in exchange for the password needed to regain access to the server.

Hopefully, we won’t have news of another breach next week.

Because of incidents like these data breaches, healthcare privacy and security “enforcement activities have increased dramatically over the last two years,” Linn Foster Freedman, JD, an attorney with Nixon Peabody in Providence, R.I., said during a program presented by the Rhode Island Quality Institute.

“Think and act like you will be audited because they are auditing” covered entities (CEs) of all sizes, Freedman said. Most importantly, CEs must conduct a security risk analysis and take action on any vulnerabilities or deficiencies uncovered. Her presentation covered a range of practical advice CEs should consider, especially the various policies and procedures the Office of Civil Rights and CMS will look for in the event of an audit.

Meanwhile, medical imaging is poised to break down data silos, according to a speaker at the 40th annual meeting of AHRA: the Association for Medical Imaging Management.

To manage the massive amounts of imaging data—now measured in petabytes—and to ensure enterprise-wide access and beyond, providers will have to refocus their health IT strategies. This means consolidating systems and the adoption of vendor neutral archives. With every technology purchase, Shawn McKenzie, MPA, president and CEO of Ascendian Healthcare Consulting in Sacramento, Calif., advised providers to envision functionality beyond the organization—-to think in terms of health information exchange—and imaging will have an opportunity to lead this change.

“Medical imaging is a cornerstone to the ability to create a fluid care continuum.”

Beth Walsh
CMIO, Editor
bwalsh@trimedmedia.com