In light of the increased HIPAA enforcement activity, covered entities and business associates should review their existing HIPAA Privacy and Security safeguards to determine if you sufficiently protect Protected Health Information (PHI). If applicable, the safeguards should address how to protect PHI taken off your premises either on paper or electronically (for example, on a laptop computer). Also, covered entities and business associates should confirm that any employees with access to PHI have received the necessary HIPAA training. In addition, to avoid HIPAA’s breach notification requirements, PHI should be secured (that is, encrypted or destroyed), to the extent possible.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), is responsible for enforcing the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Although OCR has been enforcing HIPAA’s rules since 2003, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, significantly enhanced OCR’s enforcement authority.

Texas A&M’s electric quarterback Johnny Manziel, will take the field tomorrow for another episode of “Johnny Football”. He might be the most exciting player in all of college football.

His football instincts and ability to make the big play on the biggest of stages has defined him and added to hislegend. On the field, he takes his craft seriously.

In 2010, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reported an estimated 16,800 home structure fires involving clothes dryers or washing machines. This resulted in 51 deaths, 380 injuries and $236 million in direct property damage. The leading cause of these fires involved clothes dryers (92%).

Have you read the book or seen the movie Moneyball? It’s really a story of Big Data.

Below is a favorite scene of mine from the movie. In case you don’t know the talent acquisition side of professional baseball, each club has an army of scouts that evaluate new talent forthe upcoming season. Billy Beane, the General Manager and main character, is listening to his scouts make their recommendations for the draft and free agency.

You’ve heard the commercials touting “name your price” for insurance or the promise of saving an average of 15% if you switch your policy. Sound tempting? What you don’t hear about is how the price or the savings is determined. Cutting costs usually involves cutting coverage or reading the fine print in what’s not covered. It is better to consider your “total cost of risk”. This means that saving $200 on your auto policy per year may sound like a good financial decision, but if your liability limits are not adequate, it could cost you thousands or hundreds of thousands on a claim that exceeds your coverage limits. The “cost” to you is not just an insurance premium or rate. Your future wages can be garnished or you may have to liquidate assets like selling your home just to pay for the settlement.

Now, the $200/year in extra premium is looking like a great value!

It seems as if every week there is a new commercial for the “Next Best Thing” in mobile devices.

Lightest Phone in the Universe!

“Tim needs to listen more and stop talking over his classmates. While we appreciate his enthusiasm he needs to give the other kids a chance to participate, too.”

I’m not sure exactly when this started showing up in my report cards but I can certainly remember back to at least the 3rd grade. My hunch is that it’s been there even longer.

Last year, US congress passed the Biggert-Waters Act, calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other agencies to make a number of changes to the way the current National Flood Insurance Plan operates. The act, which is commonly known as the Flood Insurance Reform Act, obliges insurance providers to amend rates to reflect true flood risk, thus making the program more financially stable.