ALERT – Phishing Campaign
These phishing emails are targeting healthcare providers. The email has a subject of “(Victim Organization) (Date) Business Review” and utilizes a Secure Message theme. Inside of the email is a malicious link that takes the recipient to an Evernote site that looks like it belongs to the Victim Organization. On that site is an HTML […]
OCR’s COVID-19 Enforcement Discretions
Throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency that began in January of 2020, the Office for Civil Rights has issued several notifications of enforcement discretion for certain aspects of the HIPAA rules. This means that, for the topics covered, the OCR will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the HIPAA rules as long as the covered […]
It’s Your Call July 2022
OSHA: Our office provides laser treatment. What OSHA specific regulation(s) address laser plume (smoke)? Currently, OSHA has no specific standards for laser/electrosurgery plume hazards but note that smoke byproduct could produce upper respiratory irritation, cause potential in-vitro mutagenesis, and generate infectious viral fragments. Thus, OSHA could cite under these two regulations: 134(a)(1)-Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment […]
Navigating Social Media, Online Reviews, & HIPAA
No one likes a bad review. It is much more common for an unsatisfied customer to post a negative review than it is for a happy customer to post a positive review. Most business advice sites recommend responding to both good and bad reviews because it helps resolve issues and actually wins back customers. However, […]
It’s Your Call June 2022
HIPAA: TRUE OR FALSE: It is a good idea to respond to a patient who posts an issue or a negative review online so everyone can see that your practice is helpful and caring. A: FALSE! Even though it is the patient who posts information about their visit or health condition, if your practice’s reply […]
Your Patients’ Right of Access
The HIPAA Privacy Rule grants patients the right to access their health information in a way that is easy and affordable for them. Providers are required to give patients access to their health information. There are some exceptions, of course, so getting the process right can be as confusing as being in a house of […]
Beware of Malware Lurking in PDF Email Attachments
Most malware that is delivered as an email attachment is usually a Word (.docx) or Excel (.xlsx) file. Cybersecurity threat analysts have recently discovered that PDF attachments are now becoming more popular to distribute malware. Since many people have been trained to be suspicious of opening Word and Excel files, they are not as cautious […]
It’s Your Call May 2022
Infection Control Alert: The CDC is encouraging physicians to consider adenovirus testing for children with symptoms of Hepatitis of unknown origin. Hepatitis symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice. It can also be caused by other viruses. Adenoviruses cause cold-like symptoms, fever, sore […]
ADA Cybersecurity Attack
In the past week the American Dental Association has confirmed that they fell victim to a cybersecurity event. There is a banner posted on the home page of the website alerting their members of this continuing situation and asking for their patience as the issue is resolved. News outlets are consistently reporting the following information […]
Your Patients’ Right of Access
The HIPAA Privacy Rule grants patients the right to access their health information in a way that is easy and affordable for them. Providers are required to give patients access to their health information. There are some exceptions, of course, so getting the process right can be as confusing as being in a house of […]