Business Continuity – Page 4 – RISC Management and Consulting

Sylvia Matthew Burwell is the 22^nd Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and took office last June 9th, 2014. According to her Biography, “Secretary Burwell has called for the Department to operate under three guiding tenets: to deliver results on a wide range of complex issues; to strengthen the relationships that drive progress; and to build strong teams with the talent and focus needed to deliver impact for the American people”.

Included in her job description along with overseeing more than 77,000 employees is ensuring that data breaches of unsecured protected health information affecting 500 or more individuals are posted on the HHS website. The Secretary is required to do this by section 13402(e) (4) of the HITECH Act. The following unauthorized access/disclosure breaches have been reported to the Secretary between May 2014 and August 2014.

May to August 2014 breach of unauthorized access or disclosure

Brought to you by RISC Management and Consulting, LLC as part of Privacy and Security Awareness Program

References

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/coveredentities/federalregisterbreachrfi.pdf

Boston Children’s Hospital Senior Vice President and CIO Daniel Nigrin, MD, will be one of the speakers at the Privacy and Security Forum to be held in Boston, MA. The discussion will include sharing “best practices, lessons learned, insights and information regarding the much debated practice of BYOD” or bring you own device (HIMSS, 2014). The hospital experienced having to defend against hackers who made several attempts in potentially exposing the organization’s internal network. The cyber-attack was linked to the renowned hacker group Anonymous (Boston Globe, 2014).

Boston Children’s Hospital is a 395 bed comprehensive center for pediatric health care. The services offered are for children from birth through 21 years of age. The hospital is home to the world’s largest research community. Their current initiatives have attracted $225 million in annual funding. Boston Children’s Hospital is a certified Magnet hospital for nursing excellence; according to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Magnet Recognition Program signifies “quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice” (2014).

US News surveyed 183 pediatric centers to obtain clinical data in 10 specialties and Boston Children’s Hospital was one of the Top Ten hospitals in the Honor Roll for high scores, ranking in the Top Ten in all Ten categories including eight 1st place rankings. Boston Children’s Hospital ranked number one in the 2014-2015 year, establishing excellence in treating children suffering from all types of illnesses. RTI International, a North Carolina-based research and consulting firm directed the surveys and analyzed the results.

Dr. Nigrin is part of an organization that shows integrity and accountability with regards to their patients’ sensitive information as well as provides excellent and innovative patient care.

Privacy and Security Forum: Protecting Data Assets and Managing Risks

September 8-9, 2014

Westin Boston Waterfront

Boston, MA

For more information please visit: http://boston.healthprivacyforum.com/

References

American Nurses Credentialing Center. (2014). ANCC Magnet Recognition Program. Retrieved from http://www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet.aspx

Boston Globe. (2014). Hacker group Anonymous targets Children’s hospital. Retrieved from http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/04/24/hacker-group-anonymous-targets-children-hospital-over-justina-pelletier-case/jSd3EE5VVHbSGTJdS5YrfM/story.html

HIMSS. (2014). CIO to discuss cyber-attack at Privacy and Security Forum. Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/News/NewsDetail.aspx?ItemNumber=32805

U.S. News & World Report. (2014). Children’s hospital rankings. Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-childrens-hospitals/articles/2014/06/10/best-childrens-hospitals-2014-15-honor-roll-and-overview