Demonstrating that ePHI encryption meets the safe harbor requirements may be more difficult than it seems when planning for that inevitable breach. Full disk encryption may not be enough. Many healthcare users believe encryption software installed on mobile devices and desktops will avoid the potentially damaging breach notification. The question is: Can you prove ePHI was encrypted at the time the device was lost, accessed, or stolen? Absio Corporation may have the answer.
Q. A long-term care facility has deployed laptops that connect to a file server and are password protected. The laptops are not used to store PHI or other confidential data and are not removed from the facility. Do the laptop hard drives need to be encrypted?
The HIPAA Privacy Rule de-identification standard-Section 164.514(a)-includes two methods by which health information can be designated as de-identified: expert determination and safe harbor.
