Healthcare and security

Healthcare Information Security ArticlesTop 10 Health InfoSec Stories for 2010
A Look Back at the Past Year's Biggest Events
January 10, 2011 - Howard Anderson, Managing Editor, HealthcareInfoSecurity.com
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Healthcare privacy and security issues rose to the forefront in 2010 thanks, in large part, to the HITECH Act, which led to many new regulations as well as a public list of major health information breaches.

HealthcareInfoSecurity.com has compiled a list of the past year's most noteworthy trends and events in an interactive slide show.

In one of the most significant events of the year, federal rules were issued to launch the HITECH Act's electronic health records incentive payment program. One rule defining "meaningful use" of EHRs requires hospitals and physicians to conduct a risk assessment and then take steps to mitigate risks identified.

A new federal list of major health information breaches surpassed 200 cases by year's end, drawing attention to the need for breach prevention efforts.

Meanwhile, as more organizations relied on social media for marketing and education, concerns about privacy threats grew. One hospital fired staffers for discussing a patient online. And as regional and statewide efforts to facilitate health information exchange continued, federal regulators grappled with a long list of issues, including how to obtain patient consent for data exchange.