HITECH Act

Exclusive: FBI warns healthcare sector vulnerable to cyber attacks

By Jim Finkle for Reuters UK (Reuters) – The FBI has warned healthcare providers their cybersecurity systems are lax compared to other sectors, making them vulnerable to attacks by hackers searching for Americans’ personal medical records and health insurance data. Health data is far more valuable to hackers on the black market than credit card…

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Valley View Hospital Hacked, 5,400 Patients’ Information Compromised

By Ayla Ellison for Becker’s Hospital CIO Glenwood, Colo.-based Valley View Hospital suffered a data breach when hackers introduced a virus into the hospital’s computer system that took screenshots of 5,400 patients’ personal records. From Sept. 11, 2013, to Jan. 23 of this year, the virus collected patient data by taking screenshots of patients’ records and…

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HIPAA breach is bad news for 729,000

Health system now to ‘expedite’ encryption By Erin McCann for Healthcare IT News Despite the revamped federal HIPAA Omnibus Rule which holds covered entities and business associates more accountable for failing to adequately protect patients’ health information, some groups continue to make the same old avoidable mistakes. AHMC Healthcare, a six-hospital health system in Alhambra,…

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Top Hospitals Opt Out of Obamacare

Americans who sign up for insurance on the state exchanges may not have access to the nation’s top hospitals, Watchdog.org reports. By Tori Richards for Watchdog.org The Obama Administration has been claiming that insurance companies will be competing for your dollars under the Affordable Care Act, but apparently they haven’t surveyed the nation’s top hospitals.…

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HHS settles with health plan in photocopier breach case

News Release at HHS.gov Under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Affinity Health Plan, Inc. will settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules for $1,215,780. Affinity Health Plan is a not-for-profit managed care plan serving the New York…

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