If any of your clients are involved with health care, you know how highly regulated the field is. You may think you are complying with all the regulations and have lock-tight security measures in place at your firm. But you could be wrong. Consider that there have been 92 breaches involving personal health information (PHI) so far this year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights’ database. Thirty-two percent of those breaches were caused by IT incidents or hacking. Either due to lax security practices or cyberattacks, personally identifiable information such as medical records and payment history was open to unauthorized third parties. When you work with PHI, you need to keep your firm steps ahead of hackers and away from accidental data breaches — and be aware of your responsibilities. As a law firm "business associate" handling PHI, you need to understand what the government expects of you, and where you may be vulnerable. ... READ THE REST
Originally published July 6, 2015Sign up for our free newsletter.