Important HIPAA Notice

On April 8th, 2014 Microsoft will discontinue support for their Windows XP computer operating system. With the discontinuance of support Microsoft is also eliminating any future security updates which will make these computers significantly more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, effectively making any office with these systems installed non-compliant with the HIPAA / HITECH Acts with the potential for significant fines. Even though your office may have a suitable firewall and a valid anti-virus subscription, having just one computer with Windows XP is technically considered a violation. These regulations are outlined in Section §164.308 through Section §164.312 of the HIPAA Security Rule.

Besides compliant operating systems a quick review of your other office IT systems that need to be reviewed to insure HIPAA compliance include:

• Data backup procedures / providers — is your Cloud provider Level III HIPAA compliant?
• Remote Access methods — is your data being encrypted?
• Secure email transmissions — AOL, Gmail, Yahoo and most others are not compliant
• Business Class Anti-virus subscriptions — AVG Free is not compliant
• Wifi setup / access — patient access must be separated from your office network

Recently, there has been a significant increase in inquiries of HIPAA compliance and enforcement, even in single practitioner offices. We are happy to come to your office and provide a no charge, no obligation consultation and written assessment of your HIPAA compliance. In some instances operating system upgrades may be a viable option otherwise we are recommending system replacement with computers with Windows 7 Professional operating systems.
We look forward to hearing from you, any time – days, evenings or weekends.

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