Saturday, October 29, 2011

Responding to Data Loss in Healthcare



 http://ow.ly/7cKT7

An article appearing on the proofpoint.com website (No author credit listed)

This article discusses data breaches for healthcare providers.

The article states, "While strong privacy protection practices and data loss prevention software can reduce the risk of data breach, some cyber criminals are savvy enough to infiltrate even the most secure systems. Government Health IT recently published an article explaining some of the best practices for responding to a data breach."

In addition, the article further points out, "The website recommends focusing on a comprehensive incident response plan, especially one that follows HIPAA compliance statutes, as preparation is key in recovering from a data breach. Communication, especially through the multiple facets of a given healthcare organization, is pivotal in ensuring a secure and effective incident response procedure.

Healthcare providers have been among the hardest hit by data breach in recent years. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the healthcare sector has experienced 65 breaches, leading to more than 3.5 million compromised personal health records, since January 1."

The article further mentions that the AMA states that HIPAA violations can lead to fines ranging from $100 to $50,000 per incident, and possibly up to $1.5 million annually.

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