Now we have a blog family………
Health Care Reform and Public Policy
http://healthcarethinktank.blogspot.com/
healthcarethinktank@gmail.com
Physician Group Practice Management Topics
http://practicemanagementnews.blogspot.com/
practicemanagementnews@gmail.com
Long-term Care Management News
http://longtermcareupdates.blogspot.com/
longtermcareupdates@gmail.com
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
HIPAA Security - Alert #3
Disposing of Computers:
A British research group bought about 300 used computers from on-line sources and second hand stores.
The purpose was to search for confidential data on hard drives.
Among other data, the researchers found top secret classified U.S. military defense plans. Oops!
Used practice computers should not be sold or discarded unless the hard drive is removed or a real expert "wipes" the hard drive. Using the computers standard "delete" function does not wipe the information from the drive.
Old hard drives that cannot be wiped are best removed from the machine and "fixed" with a large hammer, and then disposed of in a pile of trash not likely to attract the curious.
This advice goes as well for portable devices of all kinds.
A British research group bought about 300 used computers from on-line sources and second hand stores.
The purpose was to search for confidential data on hard drives.
Among other data, the researchers found top secret classified U.S. military defense plans. Oops!
Used practice computers should not be sold or discarded unless the hard drive is removed or a real expert "wipes" the hard drive. Using the computers standard "delete" function does not wipe the information from the drive.
Old hard drives that cannot be wiped are best removed from the machine and "fixed" with a large hammer, and then disposed of in a pile of trash not likely to attract the curious.
This advice goes as well for portable devices of all kinds.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Shredder Talk
The original shredder models cut paper in strips and neatly deposited the strips into a bag or box.
The U.S. State Department eventually learned the shredding could, with enough patience, be reconstructed (in 1979 several hundred Iranian students reassembled thousands of documents during the Iranian hostage crisis).
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have found the reconstruction technique quite useful. An accountant was recently indicted for tax evasion after shredding in his trash was reconstructed.
Someone diving in your practice dumpster could also reconstruct strip shredded documents.
New shredders are double-cut, creating confetti instead of strips. While not impossible, this confetti would be very difficult to reconstruct.
We highly recommend the double-cut shredders.
The U.S. State Department eventually learned the shredding could, with enough patience, be reconstructed (in 1979 several hundred Iranian students reassembled thousands of documents during the Iranian hostage crisis).
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have found the reconstruction technique quite useful. An accountant was recently indicted for tax evasion after shredding in his trash was reconstructed.
Someone diving in your practice dumpster could also reconstruct strip shredded documents.
New shredders are double-cut, creating confetti instead of strips. While not impossible, this confetti would be very difficult to reconstruct.
We highly recommend the double-cut shredders.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Plastic Surgery Sagging
Plastic surgeons have made fortunes on private pay patients seeking elective surgeries.
The recession has apparently hit hard enough to lower demand for plastic surgery services.
We recently saw a billboard with discount package prices for breast enhancement and lipo.
Based on media reports, there may be one growth area in plastic surgery - fixing botched plastic surgery.
This is a serious recession!
The recession has apparently hit hard enough to lower demand for plastic surgery services.
We recently saw a billboard with discount package prices for breast enhancement and lipo.
Based on media reports, there may be one growth area in plastic surgery - fixing botched plastic surgery.
This is a serious recession!
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