The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) now has new and fuller powers to enforce the HIPAA privacy regulations as detailed in the HITEH provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Now, OCR will shoulder the responsibility to enforce HIPAA security instead of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that previously held this ability.  OCR plans to fully utilize its increased authority and is now able to levy civil fines of as much as $1.5 million per violation.

At a recent conference, Marilou King, a senior advisor for HHS’s office of General Council Civil Rights Division stated, "OCR has significantly strengthened tools with which to obtain compliance," as reported by Government Health IT.  King added, "And the goal of the enforcement program will be to obtain compliance from covered entities and from new regulated entities as HITECH has authorized,"

The OCR is attempting to build consumer confidence in putting their information into an electronic health record.  Maintaining this confidence will require that complaints are investigated and that violations are understood and corrected.   With the increased ability to impose direct fines against violators it makes this the perfect time to revaluate your security polices and make sure that they are sufficient, in use and reviewed regularly.  

It's been great catching up with longtime clients and meeting a lot of the leaders within the ambulatory surgery world here in Anaheim, CA.

Stop by and pay us a visit at booth 138!

AmkaiSolutions and Mavicor announced today an agreement under which the companies will work together to efficiently provide their range of products and services to ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals and affiliated physician practices. “With our mission to be the premier provider of effective software solutions for our clients, the partnership with Mavicor™ enables us to offer our complete suite of products as an efficient hosted service, said Joe Macies, CEO of AmkaiSolutions™.”

Mavicor™, a leading healthcare information technology management company, had been working with its top clients in investigating EHR solutions for the ASC, surgical hospital and affiliated physician marketplace and had recommended AmkaiSolutions™ due to the robustness of the product and the responsiveness of implementing new features. “After a year of detailed research and evaluation, AmkaiSolutions™ stood out in all categories, not just from the actual use of the application, but from what is under the hood, the underlying technology,” said Steve Campbell, COO of Mavicor™. “We immediately knew we could implement these applications in a hosted environment and drive out some of the costs that are difficult for clients to manage,” continued Mr. Campbell. “We are happy to partner with AmkaiSolutions™ and to deliver their value in an economical, reliable way to existing and prospective clients across the country”.

AmkaiSolutions™ offers administrative systems through AmkaiOffice™, EHR systems through AmkaiCharts™, complete enterprise systems through AmkaiEnterprise™, and specialty-specific software for GI, Pain, Orthopedic and Ophthalmology operations. AmkaiSolutions™ systems are installed across the country in ASC, surgical hospital and physician practice settings. “AmkaiCharts was recently ranked #1 among EHR systems for ASCs by Parsons Institute of Information Management,” noted Craig Veach, senior vice president at AmkaiSolutions™. “Additionally, AmkaiCharts has been surveyed successfully by The Joint Commission, AAAHC and CMS.”

The agreement is being introduced in conjunction with the annual convention of the ASC Association in Anaheim, CA.

Feel like giving Apple's iPad a try? Are you failing to see any reason why this might be relevant to your business?

Think about the software at the heart of your organization. What makes your business work? Can you picture a scenario where it might be helpful to have some or all of that critical application elegantly interactive on a smooth little sheet of glass and metal?  

The developers of that critical application can and do. Can you blame them for wanting to be included on the fun?

Regardless, as obscure or popular as your critical application may be, it's coming...

Ever witness mass hysteria arising from a coworker or vendor suggesting that they send something confidential over email?  Sometimes this is valid and sometimes it’s not.  Nonetheless, acquiring the ability to send secured email should be on your radar.

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