National Data Center Solutions Provider, CoreLink Data Centers, to Host Free Webinar On Pending Changes To HIPAA Security Compliance Rules Under HITECH

MT. PROSPECT, Ill., Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- National data center solutions provider, CoreLink Data Centers, LLC  (www.corelink.com/data-center-services.htm) will host a free webinar at 12:00 p.m. CST on Wednesday, December 14th, providing an update on latest developments with the HITECH rules and the impact on healthcare organizations in securing their  Electronic Protected Health Information (PHI).

The event is a follow-up to CoreLink's well-attended previous webinar during which Rick Hindmand, a member of the Chicago office of law firm McDonald Hopkins LLC, and Nav Ranajee, Director of CoreLink's Healthcare IT Vertical, discussed how Covered Entities (CE),  Business Associates (BA) and subcontractors can prepare for audit compliance under long-anticipated changes to The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 and its companion revisions to the HIPAA Security Rule.

HITECH significantly modified and strengthened a number of aspects of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), extending the Act's privacy and security standards beyond healthcare organizations. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) has issued regulations requiring CEs and BAs to comply with security breach notification requirements and has proposed revisions to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules to implement various additional provisions of the HITECH Act.  These changes will subject BAs and their subcontractors to the same potential civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance as healthcare organizations themselves face.  

OCR had been expected to issue final regulations later this year, a process that has encountered a succession of delays creating budgeting challenges for organizations unable, until final rule adoption, to make a case for hiring more employees or purchasing more applications to be compliant.

Hindmand and Ranajee will present detailed information on the status of the HITECH regulations and the steps that healthcare organizations and their vendors can take to ensure that they are compliant with the HIPAA Security Rule and that their patient and client data is protected.

"There is no question that these ongoing delays make it difficult to set information security investment priorities and to implement appropriate systems, policies and procedures," Hindmand said. "Even so, healthcare organizations and their business associates and subcontractors can take various actions to prepare for the final HIPAA rule modifications."

Hindmand will also address healthcare organizations' and business associates' legal responsibilities under the HIPAA Security Rule. The webinar is designed to help CE, BA and subcontractor executives with healthcare IT infrastructure and HIPAA compliance responsibility, as well as CIOs and other C-level executives responsible for electronic PHI, navigate the coming changes.

"Irrespective of HITECH regulations' final form, all responsible parties must be prepared to take specific steps including performing a risk analysis to spot potential HIPAA security gaps," CoreLink's Ranajee said. "Data center solutions providers offer advanced systems and access protocols which are a cost effective option for healthcare organizations wanting to meet their HIPAA security compliance requirements."

The webinar will be presented from noon to 1:00 p.m. CST on Dec. 14th at no cost. Attendees can register for the event here. System requirements include Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server for PC-based attendees; Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer for Macintosh®-based attendees.

Contact CoreLink Data Centers for more information about HIPAA compliant data center solutions, including managed security and disaster recovery solutions or call 866-435-2375.

About CoreLink:

CoreLink is a leading provider of HIPAA Security Compliant data hosting and disaster recovery solutions to the healthcare industry. CoreLink provides data center hosting and managed services of critical infrastructure services delivered on a "state of the art," robust and environmentally friendly technology platform. By leveraging data centers in Chicago, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Seattle with access to massive and diverse network connectivity, CoreLink delivers small, medium and large enterprise customers and service providers with high quality and uniquely agile, data center services. CoreLink's focus on aligning customer needs with the proper solution, combined with a relentless focus on service, provides the flexibility and peace of mind all businesses require from a data center provider.

For more information, please call 866.435.2375 or visit our website or check out more at CoreLink Data Centers' blog, CoreLink on Facebook and @corelinkdata on Twitter.

SOURCE CoreLink Data Centers, LLC