Author: Williams, Patricia A.H

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

Information sharing between healthcare organizations increasingly includes the use of electronic health records (EHRs) as well as data from medical devices that have been integrated into existing networks. When exchanging such data, providers should be mindful not only of the interoperabil....

Author: Arvin, Marti

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

One might ask why a privacy officer even needs to worry about defending against a cyberattack—isn’t that the role of the chief information security officer and the chief information officer? The answer is no. Cyberattacks are not always about technology. The privacy officer is not generall....

Author: Wiedemann, Lou Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2017

According to the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), from January 2016 to November 2016 approximately 169,013,996 people were affected by 1,737 healthcare breaches. The Ponemon Institute estimates that data breaches could cost the healthcare industry as m....

Author: Glondys, Barbara

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2016

On March 28, 2016, the information systems at 10 MedStar Health hospital locations were attacked by a virus that prevented certain users from logging in to the organization’s information systems. The organization immediately moved to back-up systems using paper transactions. All facilitie....

Author: Saharia, Devendra

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2016

Disruptive technology can turn any industry on its head—virtually overnight. Just five years ago, summoning a taxi was an inefficient, time-consuming effort that often involved dialing up a dispatcher, who contacted a driver, who would then make their way to your location, perhaps in an h....

Author: Gordon, Lynne Thomas

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2016

Recently, the New York Times ran a provocative opinion piece that called for increased use of patient data for research purposes. “When I explain to my own patients what can be done with their medical information for the greater good in research, nobody has ever said to me ‘don....

Author: Brinda, Danika

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2016

Stories about workforce members inappropriately accessing health information continue to plague the Department of Health and Human Services’ Data Breach Portal—which lists US provider data breaches that affect more than 500 individuals. Recently two data breaches reported on th....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: November 2015

The HIM Problem


Completing regular privacy risk assessments is one of the most proactive ways of preventing healthcare privacy breaches. However, finding helpful tools for these assessments is hard to come by.


The HIM Problem Solver: Sharon Lewis, MBA, RHIA, CHPS, CP....

Author: Lucci, Susan; Walsh, Tom

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2015

One of the most alarming statistics in the news, which is growing with intent and severity, is the prevalence of cyber-attacks, particularly in healthcare. It is an alarming trend that has gained a good deal of attention. For example, in July 2015, UCLA reported that up to 4.5 million pati....

Author: Bowen, Rita K.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2015

Fifteen years ago, many individuals accepted the role of the privacy officer with a perception that it would be a role involving the education and training of individuals on HIPAA rules and regulations, developing policy, and responding to reported incidents. The security officer was focu....