More Patient Data Risks, Lawsuits Predicted In 2012

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/security-privacy/232301516

By Nicole Lewis
InformationWeek
January 09, 2012

According to experts in healthcare law and information privacy and 
security, healthcare IT managers can expect to see more patient data 
breaches in 2012, along with more lawsuits filed by patients as the 
availability of patient information exchanged over social media sites 
and mobile devices grows.

These conclusions, published by ID Experts, offer a glimpse into what 
health CIOs can expect as they seek to protect patient data during a 
year that promises more of the same challenges they faced last year. In 
2011, the healthcare industry had its fair share of patient data 
breaches, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office 
for Civil Rights (OCR) stepped up its oversight activities, handing down 
fines to healthcare organizations that were lax in meeting their patient 
privacy obligations.

Rick Kam, president and co-founder of ID Experts and chair of the 
American National Standard Institute’s (ANSI’s) PHI Project, gave 
InformationWeek Healthcare his assessment of the forecasts, noting that 
"the thread that links all of the predictions together is safeguarding. 
Protected health information (PHI) is truly a patient safety issue, and 
healthcare data breaches will reach epidemic proportions this year if 
precautions are not taken."

On the legal front, Kirk Nahra, partner at the law firm Wiley Rein LLP, 
predicts that the number of class-action lawsuits will increase in 2012 
as patients sue healthcare organizations for failing to protect their 
health information.

[...]

_____________________________________________________
Did a friend send you this article? Make it your
New Year's Resolution to subscribe to InfoSec News!
http://www.infosecnews.org/mailman/listinfo/isn