In This Issue:

- The Take-Aways for Covered Entities and Business Associates

- For More Information

- Excerpt from The Take-Aways for Covered Entities and Business Associates:

As a majority of the breaches occurring in 2011 and 2012 involved the loss or theft of PHI, covered entities and business associates must take steps to ensure PHI, especially ePHI, is truly protected. Encrypting data is the best way to prevent these types of breaches (e.g., encrypting all ePHI used or viewed on a laptop, via a portable storage drive [such as a flash drive], or viewed off the entity’s server). It is also important to educate (and re-educate) employees on how to protect, and the importance of protecting, PHI (e.g., not leaving PHI unattended).