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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.