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ioSafe hard drives have been called "HIPAA in a box" and "Simplicity for EHR"

If you work in a medical office, chances are that you’re familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). It exists to protect the health insurance of people who lose their jobs. One of its provisions protects the privacy and security of health data.

A recent change to HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economical and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) occurred as part of the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act of 2009. It implements new rules for the accounting and disclosure of a patient’s health information and profile. It extends the current requirements for keeping track and protecting electronic health records (EHRs) or electronic medical records (EMRs). It is one of the most sweeping changes since HIPAA was created. The new rule is that when medical offices use ERHs, the time-frame for making sure the privacy concerns are up to HIPAA standards has been

lowered from six years to three. That means if your office has a HIPAA compliance plan in the works, the time-frame must be accelerated.

The rules state that you must be able to provide the patient with their medical records within 30 days of the request. You also must disclose the medical information to legal

agencies when required to do so by the law. You must make the patient aware of any use of the medical information and correct it as needed. Penalties for the failure of observing these rules can be harsh. This year, UCLA was forced to pay $865,500 in a settlement regarding HIPAA violations.

Among your preparations for protecting your patients information is choosing the right hardware for the job. You need equipment that stand against accidents, natural disasters and theft. We think that you can’t go wrong with ioSafe products.

IoSafe offers many different products that can fit your security needs. If you’re looking for a portable unit for the safe, physical transfer of data between workstations or other locations then the Rugged Portable hard drive line is for you. These portable hard drives live up their name with such features as the Full Metal Jacket crush protection; with it the Rugged can withstand the force of 2500 lbs. (aluminum shell) or 5000 lbs. (titanium alloy). With its immersion protection, it can be dunked in water for three days without the data within being damaged. It also features chemical protection, shock protection, altitude protection and theft protection. Given the need for secure data transfer, you should be aware of the Genie Timeline Pro backup software and encryption software. Equally important are the Data Recovery Service plans that available with most ioSafe products. This service provides the client with forensic data recovery and new hardware.

For workstation placement, the hard drive called the ioSafe SoloPRO is excellent for office environments.  With the latest USB technology and blinding fast data transfer speeds, these models are excellent for the movement and protection of patient health records. The 1TB SoloPRO is waterproof and fireproof and is Mac and PC compatible. Its connectivity allows it to hook-up to NAS networks and it comes with the Data Recovery Service. There are SSD and 3TB models.

The ioSafe Solo is another great choice for keeping records safe. The 1TB model is fireproof, waterproof and has USB 2.0 connectivity. It is PC and Mac compatible and comes with a Data Recovery Service plan with $1000 worth of forensic data recovery. There are also 1.5TB and 2TB models. IoSafe isn’t just about hard drives; they also provide other methods of keeping data secure. Hard drive, business and data safes are also available.

New laws and regulations will always come along and it’s part of your responsibility to your patients that you keep up with and abide by them. HDDfiresafe.com and ioSafe can give you the tools to make this job easier.

Dental & Medical Offices

If you work in a dentists or medical office, then you’re very familiar with the next words; forms, paperwork, lab results, electronic medical records, doctor’s notes, etc. Managing the health needs of even a small group of people can be a daunting task. Not only is it your responsibility to organize and use that data to protect and improve a patient’s health information, by ethics and the law it’s your responsible to keep that data safe and secure.

Your office deals with confidential patient information that falls under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act of 1996 (HIPAA) and according to this law, you are required to put administrative, technical and physical safeguards on that patient information. Usually, discussing that means making sure no one steals files, sells patient information or accidently transmits patient data over an unsafe line.

What about simple accidents or natural disasters or a fire in your building? These occurrences can destroy or corrupt your data just as easily and you need to plan for them. You need disaster-proof/secure hard drives and HDDfiresafe.com has a couple of great models for your office. They’re from the ioSafe, a company that pioneered disaster-proof computer equipment.

Backup and Store Electronic Medical Records on the ioSafe

The first ioSafe products we would like you to look at are the Rugged Portable line. Fireproof, shockproof, waterproof and near bulletproof. The Rugged Portable models are a wonderful option for office use. It is fit for usage in any workstation or as a mobile unit, perfect for meetings and transferring data between sites and servers. The ioSafe 250GB Rugged Portable Hard Drive with 5K RPM and USB 3.0 is an excellent model. Its fast connection speeds can go up to 5 GB/s and it includes Genie Timeline Pro backup software with a TrueCrypt encryption program. It supports both Macs and PCs and comes in either aluminum or titanium enclosures. The environmental protection package covers virtually every type of disaster; fire, flood, altitudes up to 15,000 feet, chemical exposure and shock protection. It has been approved by such industry leaders as PCWorld, MacWorld and ARS Technica.

One of the best features is the Data Recovery Service (DRS). This ioSafe standard feature is the ultimate safety net for hard drives. The 250GB model comes with a three year plan and up to $5000 of forensic data recovery. In the rare event that something would get past the Rugged’s outer shell, you will be covered. There are also 500GB, 750GB and SSD models available.

The SoloPRO is well suited for Medical Offices and Dentists with computer servers storing PHI or electronic medical records.

The ioSafe SoloPRO External Hard Drive line is a great choice for the office environment. It’s not as portable as the Rugged line but it’s just as tough and dependable; it’s perfect for any workstation or for server duties. It provides unparalleled data protection with neck-breaking connectivity speeds. The 1TB SoloPRO e STATA/USB 2.0 Desktop Hard Drive is the perfect example of the line. It is Microsoft Server, Linux, Mac and PC compatible and it has the ability to connect to NAS servers.

It has a one year DRS plan with up to $1000 of forensic data recovery (upgrades to three and five year plans are available). The environmental protection is top-shelf. You could dunk the SoloPRO in ten feet of water for 72 hours and your data would still be safe and its fire protection ensures that it can in temperatures of up to 1550 Fahrenheit for up to 30 minutes. The Active Airflow Cooling design ensures that the hard drives will run in optimum condition.

The SoloPRO has the latest in USB technology, its play data transfer can go up to 5 GB/s and the eSTATA interface provides quick and clean access to servers. SoloPRO provides further physical protection with a Kensington security slot as a standard feature that is available with a floor mount or cable lock. There are also 2TB, 3TB and SSD models available and the SoloPRO line has $50 and $100 mail-in rebate deals available and most models are on sale now.

IoSafe products are the perfect choice for your medical office. They provide layers of security for your patients and peace of mind for your staff. Protecting data is no less essential than protecting the client it represents.

Written by:

Joseph Fowler

HDDfiresafe.com

Backup & Protect PHI and HIPAA Compliant data with ioSafe hard drives.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, (HIPAA), heralded the arrival of much stricter standards for the electronic storage, or transmission, of protected health information, (PHI). It forced medical practices to take a hard look at their policies, procedures, and electronic infrastructure, but it also left many wondering exactly how they were going to ensure their businesses were compliant with these new regulations.

Technology can be unpredictable. For instance, have you ever had a virus on your computer? These nasty pieces of malicious software can quickly cause a lot of damage and may end up damaging or deleting your important PHI records. So, it is essential that you back up your information to a reliable external device like the ioSafe SoloPRO. This way you can be sure that your files are backed up to a dependable source and you will always have a copy when you need them.

However, the SoloPRO is not just secure, it’s tough too. ioSafe’s technicians have engineered this revolutionary hard drive to withstand some of the harshest conditions you can imagine. This fireproof and waterproof device will protect your data from being submerged in water for up to 72 hours, and will shield it from temperatures up to 1550 degrees Fahrenheit. This level of physical security is unmatched by anyone else in the industry, and is yet another way that your medical practice can use the ioSafe SoloPRO to meet HIPAA regulations.

The SoloPro also supports many forms of encryption software. Once encrypted, you can be sure that anyone who tries to steal your data will be sorely disappointed. This protects your PHI records and severely limits who has access to them. The SoloPRO even comes with a Kensington lock slot so that you can securely tether your hard drive and deter opportunistic thieves.

Its usefulness does not end here, because every ioSafe SoloPRO external hard drive comes complete with a data recovery service that covers you for up to $2,500 of forensic data recovery. This “no questions asked” service covers all eventualities, regardless of how you managed to lose the data on the drive. If needed, ioSafe will recover any and all data they can, and will even ship it back to you on a replacement device just like the one you purchased.

So, if you’re looking for an affordable, all-in-one solution for HIPAA compliance, there are few better choices. Today, electronic data can be compromised in any number of ways, but when you use ioSafe’s SoloPRO hard drives, you are actively preparing for the unknown and working to ensure the safety and security of your patient’s confidential information.