By Art Gross, President and CEO, HIPAA Secure Now!
Twitter: @HIPAASecureNow
Read other articles by this author
You know that your data is valuable. It might not be in the obvious way, and you might be unaware that it is the collective data that provides hackers with more power over you.
Proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule might lead to an inadvertent way of exposing that patient data. Yes, the very data it is designed to protect, and the exposure might not even be realized or intentional.
The government has proposed modifying HIPAA to make it easier for patients to access their health data. This includes allowing them to use applications designed around personal health. This would include smartphone apps. Since third parties usually design and operate these apps, this eliminates their need to be regulated by HIPAA.
Now this data can be taken to brokers who create and share profiles on users that they may sell or store, but not in a way that is as secure to prevent a breach. Data is sold constantly, with each one of us having user profiles that are used to market to us in a variety of ways. And when we check those boxes agreeing to terms and conditions, usually without reading them, we are giving them the right to do so.
These changes are some of the biggest modifications in 7 years that have been proposed with regard to HIPAA, and public commenting ends on May 7th, 2021. If you have concerns or issues with how this might unfold, be sure to make your thoughts heard by going to this site here and learning more.
This article was originally published on HIPAA Secure Now! and is republished here with permission. HIPAA Secure Now offers annual online subscriptions to help covered entities and business associates keep up with compliance. Learn more here.
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