One of the biggest potential liabilities in the home health,
hospice and private duty industry concerns patient records on laptops and other
portable electronic devices. Just
because the devices are password protected does not mean the devices are
protected. Two recent HIPAA settlements
have shown that failure to comply can be very costly. The first case is Concentra Health Services which
had a laptop stolen from one of their Physical Therapy Centers. They have agreed to pay a $1,725,220
settlement. That is just for one stolen laptop. Ouch! WCA Health Plan, Inc. of Arkansas reported
and unencrypted laptop computer that contained health records of 148
individuals. They have agreed to pay
$250,000. This should teach all of us to
use encryption software on all of our portable electronic devices.
For more information please go to
No comments:
Post a Comment