The general rules for security, risk analysis, and risk management implementation specifications, and evaluation standards are key directives for ongoing compliance assurance. Although risk analysis concepts guidance appears in the Security Rule, many organizations use it for auditing Privacy Rule processes as well.
Q: We see many assertions that encryption at the right level meets the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/HIPAA safe harbor provision with no explanation of what is necessary to prove the breached electronic protected health information (PHI) was actually encrypted at the moment of breach. How can a covered entity prove the PHI was actually encrypted at the time of the breach?
Handling requests for information from law enforcement can throw staff for a loop. Most staff are aware of their organization’s policies and the basic HIPAA requirements for disclosing patient information to family members, friends, and other individuals such as legal guardians. But handling requests from law enforcement officials can be a different matter.
OCR’s 2016 guidance on patient access opened up a debate in the industry and brought questions about fulfilling patient access requests to the foreground.
