April 20, 2009 By News Report
On Friday The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published materials on how to secure and protect health information. The materials, which build on existing HIPAA requirements but do not change them, were required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
"Protecting patient privacy is a top priority and this guidance specifies proactive steps organizations can take to limit the potential harm a breach can cause," said HHS spokesman Nick Papas in a press release.
The guidance provides steps entities can take to secure personal health information and establishes the trigger for when entities must notify that patient data has been compromised. This guidance is related to "breach notification" regulations, which will be issued by HHS and the Federal Trade Commission respectively. The HHS regulations will apply to entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the FTC regulation will apply to vendors of personal health records and certain others not covered by HIPAA. The Recovery Act requires that these regulations be published within 180 days of enactment.
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Until recently, there was no alternative to the familiar desktop computer, and its expensive upgrades and maintenance requirements. For cash-strapped local governments, the desktop computer is quickly becoming an unsustainable option for future progress. Now, a technology known as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) offers an alternative. It can be significantly more affordable than buying individual computers for every employee, and it provides similar capability. This paper shows how VDI is the future of the desktop and is a game-changer for local governments.
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