Disaster Recovery and Emergency Mode Operations under HIPAA - Being Prepared to Protect PHI During and After Emergencies

Why Should You Attend:

The question is not “if,” it is “when.” There are all kinds of disasters that can strike and must be recovered from, from the technological, to the natural, to the human. These incidents are on the increase due to various factors beyond our control, but what we can do is be prepared for incidents that can threaten the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of information. The idea is to look ahead and envision how the organization will recover from, as well as provide services during, some kind of severe incident that can threaten facilities and/or the systems within them, while protecting the privacy and security of information.

The session begins with understanding the HIPAA Security Rule’s requirements to protect information security, and how the principles in the rules apply in various scenarios. The session will then present various situations to illustrate the most effective preparations in advance of and steps to take in response to a cyber-attack such as Ransomware, and a natural disaster, such as a flood, tornado, or fire that destroys information assets. In addition, dealing with large-scale events like hurricanes and the resulting needs for providing information as necessary while protecting privacy and security will be discussed.

The session will include planning steps for preparations to deal with typical emergencies and significant threats to the privacy and security of confidential information. Recommendations will call on guidance from the US Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• The circumstances that would prompt a need for disaster recovery and continuing operations during an emergency
• Preventing and recovering from Information System disasters such as Ransomware
• Being prepared for loss of communications
• Being prepared for loss of facilities
• Having a good Backup and Recovery plan
• Maintaining delivery of services during an emergency
• Using alternate methods of service delivery in emergency circumstances
• Getting systems and services reliably back on line
• Learning from your experiences for future resiliency

Who Will Benefit:

This webinar will provide valuable assistance to all personnel in:

Medical offices, practice groups, hospitals, academic medical centers, insurers, business associates (shredding, data storage, systems vendors, billing services, etc). The titles are

• Compliance director
• CEO
• CFO
• Privacy Officer
• Security Officer
• Information Systems Manager
• HIPAA Officer
• Chief Information Officer
• Health Information Manager
• Healthcare Counsel/lawyer
• Office Manager
• Contracts Manager

Jim Sheldon-Dean
Principal and Director of Compliance Services, Lewis Creek Systems, LLC

Jim Sheldon-Dean is the founder and director of compliance services at Lewis Creek Systems, LLC, a Vermont-based consulting firm founded in 1982, providing information privacy and security regulatory compliance services to a wide variety of health care entities. He is a frequent speaker regarding HIPAA, including speaking engagements at numerous regional and national healthcare association conferences and conventions and the annual NIST/OCR HIPAA Security Conference.

Sheldon-Dean has more than 16 years of experience specializing in HIPAA compliance, more than 34 years of experience in policy analysis and implementation, business process analysis, information systems and software development, and eight years of experience doing hands-on medical work as a Vermont certified volunteer emergency medical technician.

Sheldon-Dean received his B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Vermont and his master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Topic Background:

With the recent natural disasters and hacking attacks suffered by healthcare and governmental entities, new attention is being paid to preparations for recovering from such disasters while protecting information assets. HIPAA Security Rule as the foundation for the framework of the preparations that must take place because health care entities have health information to protect under those rules, and because the HIPAA framework and guidance provide a solid yet flexible foundation for any information security program. Healthcare information is a major target of hackers so the recommended responses must be equally robust. In natural disaster emergencies, many times health care services are key to an area’s recovery, and cannot be safely interrupted. Using the HIPAA Security Rule provides a flexible framework for protection of information and compliance with applicable regulations.

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