The White House has made a step toward implementing in federal agencies some breach response best practices currently used in the private sector. On Jan. 3, the White House issued a memorandum (Memo) updating for the first time in almost a decade guidelines on how federal agencies should prepare for and respond to a breach … Continue Reading
North Dakota has amended its Notice of Security Breach for Personal Information statute, North Dakota Century Code Section 51-30 et seq., to expand the definition of “personal information” to include “medical information” and health insurance information.” Pursuant to the amended statute, “medical information” includes any information regarding an individual’s medical history, mental or physical condition, … Continue Reading
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued, on January 17, 2013, its Final Omnibus Rule modifying the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) Privacy and Security Rules as well as the breach notification rules of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”). Our initial discussion can … Continue Reading
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) was the victim of a theft in 2009 when an intruder stole 57 hard drives which contained protected health information (PHI) of more than 1 million customers. The information on the hard drives included names, Social Security Numbers, diagnosis codes, dates of birth, and health plan identification numbers. Reports suggest … Continue Reading
