We all probably have heard the old saying “Ignorance is Bliss.”  Many of us, as we get older, look back fondly on our childhood and remember how true that was. Children often have the luxury of being able to go through life without knowing what it's like to have to work to eat, clothe, and shelter themselves and their family. Adulthood, on the other hand, quickly brings the realization that life brings on a multitude of challenges and lots of stress. The simplicity of life and the bliss that accompanies it is what Thomas Gray was talking about when he coined the phrase.  Ahh, to be a child again…

Recently, Ed Ricks, CIO at Beaufort Memorial Hospital had an interview with Marianne Kolbasuk McGee with HealthcareInfo Security.

It is a very relevant and timely discussion since The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights' "wall of shame" website shows that business associates have been culprits in at least 17 percent of breaches affecting 500 or more individuals.

A great deal of your hospital’s patient information is now handled by outside partners — physician practices, outside labs, insurance companies, and many others. In an ideal world, you could trust these business associates and their subcontractors to always take the necessary precautions to keep sensitive information safe. Dream on!

The Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced in August, that it has launched a new initiative to more widely investigate HIPAA breaches of protected health information (PHI) affecting fewer than 500 individuals.

There were 232,000 breaches of PHI affecting fewer than 500 individuals reported to OCR by covered entities and business associates between October 2009 and June 2016.