Recently, a hacker claimed he stole confidential medical data on 8 million Virginia residents from a government website. With the increasing adoption of electronic medical records and the transfer of PHI to various vendors, security of data becomes increasingly important.

Do you take good safeguards to protect your PHI?

Whenever you start working with a new vendor that requires transfer of PHI make sure the company is following HIPAA regulations. Some
questions to ask:

• Is the vendor HIPAA compliant
• How is the PHI transferred
• How is PHI backed-up and or deleted.
• Does the vendor carry general liability insurance in case of a problem

Also, make sure you sign Business Associate agreements with your vendors, always backup your data and stay current on new HIPAA regulations.