In the coming year, HHS' Office of the Inspector General will increase its focus on improving security around protected health information stored on networked and portable devices.
In its 2014 Work Plan, the OIG outlines its plan to review security controls at hospitals to prevent the exposure of patient data stored on portable devices, prompted by a rash of recent data breaches caused by the theft of laptops, flash drives and other similar devices. The OIG will assess and test hospitals' and Medicare and Medicaid contractors' policies and procedures surrounding the storage and transport of PHI.
Networked medical devices, such as dialysis machines and radiology systems that send information wirelessly to an electronic health record system, are a growing threat to the security of PHI, according to the work plan. The OIG will work to determine whether hospitals' security controls over networked medical devices are sufficient to protect patients' information.
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