Ten Easy Cyber Security Measures To Add To Your 2016 List Of New Year’s Resolutions

December 31, 2015January 6, 2016 Kathie McDonald-McClure Cyber Security and Cyber Crime, Data Privacy & Security, Health Information Technology credit card and debit card fraud, credit card skimmers, credit freeze, cyber liability insurance, identity theft, security of wi-fi networks, strong passwords

When thinking about your 2016 New Year’s resolutions, include some data security resolutions on your list! The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in coordination with Wyatt Tarrant & Combs, LLP, hosted a Cyber Security and Data Privacy seminar on December 17, 2015. This blog post highlights several ideas for resolutions that came from thoughts expressed by speakers during the seminar. In the coming year, think about what you should be doing to protect your personal identity as well as to protect the personal information of your customers, clients, patients and employees. Here are ten resolutions to get you started:

RESOLUTION #1 – I will NOT use a credit or debit card at a gas pump. This resolution can serve a two-fold purpose: a) You can make progress toward your 10,000 steps by walking to the cashier window, and b) you can protect yourself from identity theft. Dan Jackman, a cyber security task force officer with the FBI, stated during the seminar that thieves are stealing credit card information from gas pumps and explained how they do it. According to Officer Jackman, there are ONLY five different pump keys for the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky. So, dishonest fraudsters take a job with a gas station just to get access to the pump key so they can open the pump casing and change out credit card readers, not just at that station but dozens of stations using the same key. By gaining access to the inside of the pump, they can replace the card reader in a way that it cannot be detected when closing and locking the pump casing. The fraudster makes the switch in the dead of the night. Credit/debit cards are being ripped off in a matter of seconds within the time they are used at a pump with a fake card reader. Apparently, this type of theft is rampant in Kentucky.

Officer Jackman recommends going to the window to use a credit card or pay cash (thereby making this a two-part resolution because you will get some steps). If you cannot break the habit of paying at the pump, then use a prepaid card to limit your losses. Avoid using a debit card tied to your checking account. Continue reading →

Wyatt to sponsor the Kentucky Chamber’s Cyber Security and Data Protection Seminar

November 18, 2015December 8, 2015 Kathie McDonald-McClure Health Information Technology Cyber Security, Data Protection, Kentucky, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Lexington

Wyatt will be sponsoring the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce‘s Cyber Security and Data Protection Seminar on December 17, 2015 in Lexington, Kentucky. Kathie McDonald-McClure, Dayo Seton, Lisa Underwood and Martha Ziskind will be presenting on the following topics:

Kathie McDonald-McClure – “Is Your Cybersecurity Policy Up to Snuff? Do You Have One?”
Dayo Seton and Lisa Underwood – “Breaking Developments in Cyber Privacy Law – Is Your Company in the Know?”
Lisa Underwood – “Key Provisions to Address in Agreements with Your Vendors”
Martha Ziskind – “Federal Trade Commission Takes Driver’s Seat in Setting Data Privacy and Security Standards (or Not)”

This seminar will provide attendees with information on how to prevent a data breach from occurring and ensure that their company policies are in step with current federal laws and regulations.

Please click here to view the full agenda and register.

Stages 1, 2, And Now 3, Meaningful Use Criteria

April 17, 2015 Margaret Young Levi Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Meaningful Use CEHRT, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, EHR, Health Information Technology, Meaningful Use, Medicaid Electronic Health Record, Medicare Electronic Health Record, ONC

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposed Meaningful Use criteria to implement Stage 3 and allow eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (“CAHs”) to qualify for incentive payments (or avoid downward payment adjustments) under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program implemented by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act of 2009. Then CMS made changes to Stage 1 and Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria to better align with the proposed Stage 3 criteria just two weeks later.

On March 30, 2015, CMS published a long-awaited proposed rule which, if finalized, would implement Stage 3, making changes to the objectives and measures of meaningful use for providers effective in Continue reading →

April 1 Deadline for Hospitals to Earn EHR Incentives

March 16, 2015 Margaret Young Levi Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, Hospital EHR Incentives CMS, EHR incentive payments, eligible hospitals, incentive payment, Medicare EHR Incentive Programs, Medicare Electronic Health Record

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reminds hospitals that 2015 is the last year for eligible hospitals to begin participating in the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program and earn incentive payments.

In order to earn a 2015 incentive payment, be eligible for a 2016 incentive payment, and avoid a 2016 payment reduction (called an “adjustment”), first-time hospital participants should:

Begin their 90-day reporting period no later than April 1, 2015 and
Attest by July 1, 2015.

Eligible hospitals that do not start their 90-day reporting period on April 1, 2015 have one last chance to earn a 2015 incentive payment if they begin their reporting period by July 1, 2015 and attest by Continue reading →

Providers Talk, CMS Listens: CMS Announces Plan to Modify Meaningful Use Requirements

January 30, 2015January 30, 2015 Margaret Young Levi Electronic Health Records, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Incentives, Meaningful Use Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, EHR Incentive Program, Electronic Health Records, Incentive Programs, Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, Medicaid Electronic Health Record, Medicare EHR Incentive Programs, providers

On January 29, 2015, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its intent to make changes to the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs beginning in 2015, which aim to “help to reduce the reporting burden on providers.”

Providers have expressed concerns about the EHR Incentive Programs’ requirements and their burden on providers. In response to those concerns, CMS is considering whether to:

Shorten the EHR reporting period in 2015 to 90 days to accommodate these changes.
Realign hospital EHR reporting periods to the calendar year to allow eligible hospitals more time to incorporate 2014 Edition software into their workflows and to better align with other CMS quality programs.
Modify other aspects of the program to match long-term goals, reduce complexity, and lessen providers’ reporting burdens.

CMS is expected to engage in rulemaking this spring to implement these changes to the EHR Incentive Programs. These changes will not be included in the proposed regulations regarding Stage 3 meaningful use requirements and criteria that CMS plans to issue by early March 2015 and which will apply in 2017 and subsequent years.