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 […]
SUBPOENAS 101
Your practice has received a subpoena for client records. What do you need to do? Don’t panic. This is not unusual. There are several things you need to know up front. Read the entire subpoena carefully to determine who is asking for the information and, exactly what information you need to send. Never send more […]
It’s Your Call February 2022
OSHA: Has OSHA relaxed any of the covid-19 guidance for employers? No. Although the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) has been withdrawn, OSHA is working towards a permanent regulatory solution and will enforce the general duty clause and general standards. Therefore, employers should continue to provide adequate protections against covid-19 for healthcare employees. This includes, but […]
HIPAA AND BATTLING PARENTS
Dealing with a minor’s medical records can be a minefield when a child is from a blended family or the parents have a contentious divorce going. Things get especially sticky when you add in stepparents and grandparents, and when a minor controls all or a portion of their own records. It’s a good time to […]
HIPAA
DISCLOSING COVID-19 VACCINATION STATUS HHS has published an article on the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s effect on the disclosure of COVID-19 vaccination status for healthcare. The following are excerpts from the article. For the full text see: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/hipaa-covid-19-vaccination-workplace/index.html. Remember that HIPAA is not the only set of laws that regulate this information. Does the HIPAA Privacy […]
Don’t forget to resist the phish!
These steps will help in identifying phishing emails:
FDA Alert – Medtronic Recalls Paradigm and 508 MiniMed Insulin
The FDA has identified this as a Class I recall, the most serious type of recall. The use of these devices may cause serious injuries or death. Recalled Product All MiniMed Remote Controllers (model MMT-500 and MMT-503) are used with a Medtronic MiniMed 508 insulin pump or the MiniMed Paradigm family of insulin pumps. Reason […]
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month!
TMC’s Security Scout wants you to be Cyber Savvy! Did you know? 43% of cyber-attacks target small businesses. Here’s how you can be Cyber Savvy: Use long, strong passphrases or passwords and different passwords for different programs and devices. See last month’s Advisor for password tips. Watch out for phishing emails and text messages! […]
FBI and the federal CISA have issued a ransomware awareness alert
The FBI and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have issued a ransomware awareness alert for the upcoming holiday weekend. The FBI and CISA have observed a trend of increased attacks around U.S. holidays. Businesses are more vulnerable when there are fewer workers in the office or workers are more distracted than usual […]
Audit Logs
August 2021 A covered entity recently discovered that a former employee had “snooped” (inappropriately accessed) over 10,000 patient records almost 4 years after the snooping began. The employee accessed the records in the EHR over a period of about 14 months. That’s over 700 records per month. The snooping went undetected until the former employee […]