Unintended Consequences Seen in Proposed HIPAA Privacy Rule Revision
July 20, 2021
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed modifying patient privacy rules to remove barriers to coordinated care. The AMA says the proposal is “well-intentioned” but ill-timed and incomplete, having the potential to whittle away protections designed to secure private health information. Read more…
Fixing What Telehealth Couldn’t
June 3, 2021
Health providers are grappling now, and probably for some time to come, with a backlog of needs that went unmet as patients stayed home for fear of getting Covid. But human maintenance can only be deferred so long. Read more…
Explaining HIPAA: No, it doesn’t ban questions about your vaccination status
May 24, 2021
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to relax safety measures for people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and the country begins to reopen, many employers, businesses, families and friend groups are finding themselves in the at-times uncomfortable position of having to ask about others’ vaccination statuses. Read more…
Mental Health Apps Aren’t All As Private As You May Think
May 13, 2021
Type “mental health” or a condition such as anxiety or depression into an app store search bar, and you can end up scrolling through endless screens of options. As a recent Consumer Reports investigation has found, these apps take widely varied approaches to helping people handle psychological challenges—and they are just as varied in how they handle the privacy of their users. Read more…
Big Tech Unleashes Vaccine Passports
April 20, 2021
Fans of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets are flashing more than game tickets these days when entering Barclays Center. They’re also required to show a recent negative Covid-19 test, a vaccination card, or their Excelsior Pass—New York’s first-in-the-nation “vaccine passport,” which uses QR codes on a smartphone to prove test results or vaccination against the disease. Read more…
The Future is Digital Healthcare
February 26, 2021
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the use of digital technology in healthcare was on a steady rise; however, the pandemic has spurred rapid development of digital health technology as well as rapid adoption and utilization of that technology in the industry. Read more…
Biden-Harris Health Team Nominees & Appointees
December 30, 2020
Biden-Harris health team will be ready on day one to combat our most pressing health challenges. They will lead with science, expertise, and integrity. Read more…
OCR Issues Audit Report on Compliance with HIPAA
December 30, 2020
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its 2016-2017 HIPAA Audits Industry Report that reviewed selected health care entities and business associates for compliance with certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. Read more…
HHS Proposes Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule
December 17, 2020
HHS proposes modifications to the HIPAA Privacy rule to empower patients, improve coordinated care, and reduce regulatory burdens. Read more…
What a Biden Administration Might Mean for Privacy, Cybersecurity
November 25, 2020
After historic voter turnout for both political parties across the United States and days of tense scrutiny of vote counts in a handful of states, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., were projected Saturday to win the presidency. Though the Trump administration has not yet conceded the election, the Biden team has initiated and shared some of its transition plans. Read more…
HIPAA Settlement Underscores Importance of Terminating Former Employees’ Access to PHI
November 25, 2020
City Health Department failed to terminate former employee’s access to protected health information. Read more…
Wisc. Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Releases Data Privacy and Security Report
September 2, 2020
The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has released a report on the findings of its Data Privacy and Security Advisory Committee. Read more…
Johns Hopkins releases report on digital contact tracing to aid COVID-19 response
June 3, 2020
Johns Hopkins University today released a comprehensive report to help government, technology developers, businesses, institutional leaders, and the public make responsible decisions around use of digital contact tracing technology, including smartphone apps and other tools, to fight COVID-19. Read more…
American Medical Assoc. issues new principles to restore trust in data privacy
June 3, 2020
Responding to Americans’ growing reluctance to share health data and unresolved tension over eroding personal privacy, the American Medical Association (AMA) today issued new privacy principles (PDF) supporting an individual’s right to control, access, and delete personal data collected about them. Using the new privacy principles, the AMA will actively engage the administration, Congress and industry stakeholders in discussions on the future direction of regulatory guardrails that are needed to restore public confidence in data privacy protections. Read more…
Here are the contact tracing apps being deployed around the world
May 6, 2020
As countries begin to lift lockdowns from COVID-19, they are relying on contact tracing apps to identify and break the transmission chain of the disease. While some Asian countries have implemented their contact tracing apps with strict surveillance measures, Europe and the U.S. are scrambling to build apps with privacy in mind. Read more…
HIPAA Compliance at UW-Madison During the Covid-19 Pandemic
April 24, 2020
A message from the co-chairs of the UW-Madison HIPAA Executive Board and the HIPAA Privacy & Security Officers regarding HIPAA Compliance during COVID-19. Read more…
Watch for a Webex Phishing Attempt
April 16, 2020
The Cybersecurity Operations Center at UW–Madison is aware of an active phishing campaign targeting Webex users. While UW–Madison is not currently a target (under 10 phishing emails received), please be vigilant if you receive emails. Read more…
Beware of the Security Risks in using Zoom
April 16, 2020
As more of us turn to video conferencing platforms to conduct business and catch up with friends and family, the use of Zoom and concerns about its security have increased greatly. Read more…
HIPAA, Civil Rights, and Covid-19
April 16, 2020
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has provided guidance that helps explain civil rights laws as well as how the HIPAA Privacy Rule allows patient information to be shared in the outbreak of infectious disease and to assist patients in receiving the care they need. Read more…
Training Updates & Other Important Reminders
September 10, 2019
Updates on the 2019-2020 HIPAA training, reminders about the UW-Madison Health Care Component (HCC), incident reporting, and secure Box folders. Read more…
Lunch & Learn: Achieving HIPAA Compliance when Interacting with the Media and Members of the General Public
July 16, 2019
This Lunch & Learn featured a presentation by Amanda Reese, UW-Madison’s HIPAA Privacy Officer, and a panel discussion which included UW-Madison health law attorneys and a public affairs expert for the UW School of Medicine and Public Health & UW Health. Read more…
Record HIPAA Enforcement Activity in 2018
April 30, 2019
2018 marked a record period of HIPAA enforcement activity by the Office of Civil Rights at the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Read more…
Email Reminders
March 21, 2019
This information applies to ALL members of the UW-Madison Health Care Component and ALL members of SMPH Read More…
Phishing Awareness
January 28, 2019
As members of the Health Care Component at UW-Madison, we are especially vulnerable to phishing scams because of the valuable information to which we have access. Read more…
Obtain Student Medical Records
October 2, 2018
Students can learn about sharing their health information with parents/guardians on the University Health Services site
If students seek healthcare from other area providers and want to share the information with parents/guardians, these links may be helpful: UW Health, UnityPoint Health Meriter, Dean/SSM Health, GHC-SCW
Health Link Access for UWSMPH Medical Students
January 24, 2018
Previously, UWSMPH medical students received Health Link access in connection with their clinical clerkships– typically in their 3rd or 4th year of medical school. In light of curriculum redesign, UW Health now deploys full medical student Health Link access starting in the 1st year of medical school. Read more…
Email & Fax Communication Basics
December 26, 2017
Understand expectations regarding email and fax communications containing Protected Health Information. Read more…
HIPAA Frequently Asked Questions
October 18, 2017
FAQs related to Health Care Component and points of contact. Read more…
UW-Madison Notification About Postcard Incident
September 7, 2017
UW-Madison is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our patients’ and research participants’ information. Read more…