In an April 20 press release, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) announced that it discovered a breach of patient information, which resulted when a document sent to an individual outside of UAMS for analysis of billing charges was not properly de-identified. A UAMS physician sent financial data to an individual who was not ...

Texas Health Resources and Children's Medical Center announced the ability to electronically exchange medical information on a mutually-treated patient. This is now possible through a secure health information exchange product from Epic Systems Corp., and is the first such exchange in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The ability to share such ...

With all the recent talk about privacy and security changes in the HITECH Act, you'd think: 1) People would finally learn it's spelled ''HIPAA,'' not ''HIPPA''; and 2) Facilities would stop being so careless. Not the case. Misguided ''HIPPA'' use still abounds and, even more disconcerting, some organizations can't seem to lock a strategy down. ...

It's Friday--time to catch up on the news. I was hoping to share a delightful health-related story with you, but there were too many good ones, and who am I to single out? So, on to a list we go; I'll leave it up to you to pick and prune according to your preferences. CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explores record access issues ...

While researching for my encryption article, ''Are You Secured?'' I was struck by what I would consider a loophole in the breach notification rules. According to the new regulations, when a security breach or theft occurs, the covered entity or business associate must inform the affected patients. If more than 500 people are affected, the ...