First HIPAA Penalty - for lack of disclosure

The link below (and in the headline) is to a blog about a large HIPAA violation penalty. It is interesting to note that since HIPAA started in 2003 and until today, there have been little or no enforcement actions against doctors offices, hospitals, or other medical places for improper release of protected health information. Everyone has been (perhaps overly) careful to avoid inadvertent disclosure of information. That's great.

This big ($4.3 Million!) fine was against an insurance company that failed to properly communicate with its own customers. Patients (insured) wanted access to their own information and records (to which they are entitled) but the company did not properly respond or provide systems for customers to get the information. After attempts to work with them, and a complete lack of cooperation, the government fined the company - most of it for their failure to even respond to the complaints.

So, the moral here appears to be that small doctors offices and other medical facilities need to maintain patient privacy, but they really shouldn't worry about facing HIPAA violations as long as they try. But, they need to make sure, in their zeal to protect private information, that they allow their patients/customers the proper access to their own information.

Lessons Galore from Eye-Popping $4.3 Million HIPAA Penalty : Workplace Privacy Counsel

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Stratfor - When Things Go Bad

I regularly read reports from Stratfor - an information service that comments on world affairs, terrorism and even personal safety. This report is good reading to help anyone survive a bad situation. I thought it was worth repeating. When Things Go Bad By Scott Stewart Over the past several weeks, we [Stratfor] have discussed a number of different situations that can present a common problem to people caught up in them. First, we discussed how domestic terrorism remains a persistent threat in the United States, and that despite improvements in security measures since 2001, soft targets still remain vulnerable to attack by terrorist actors driven by a variety of motivations. Due to the devolution of the jihadist threat toward the grassroots, there is also a growing trend of jihadist actors using armed assaults instead of bombing attacks. We also discussed the continuing problem of workplace violence , and finally, we discussed last week evacuation plans for expatriates

4 Planning Tips for Parents of Disabled Children

Buy enough life insurance . You can’t be replaced, but someone will have to fill in if you aren’t there. Your family will probably have to pay for some services that you used to provide. You can provide the money necessary, even if you don’t have much now, with life insurance. Set up a trust . Any assets left for a child with special needs, including life insurance proceeds, should be held in trust. Leaving money directly to someone with a special need jeopardizes public benefits. Some families disinherit children with special needs, relying on siblings to care for them. This approach is fraught with potential problems. The best approach is a trust fund set aside for the child with special needs. Write down the care plan . You must write down what a future caregiver will need to know about your special needs child. You may know everything but you need to write it down so it can be passed on. The memo or letter can be kept in the attorney's files or with the parent's estate plan

It's really Spring!

It's clearly Spring around here. On the way to work this morning I saw several groups of Turkeys. In each group there was at least one male presenting his tail for the females. This looks like the classic picture you see of a Turkey around Thanksgiving with his big tail unfurled like a peacock. But, you won't see that in November, it is courting behavior used in the Spring to find a mate. Imagine if we humans had some sort of mating system like that. The males puff themselves up, furl out their tails and strut around waiting for a female to find them attractive ... that would be something ... oh, wait! Three Turkeys at my Bird Feeder - April 2011 (C) Edward Adamsky, 2011

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