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PRESS RELEASE _____________________________________________________________________________________
HIMSS, Austin, TX Chapter Confirms Keynote Address by Cyber Security & Compliance Expert, Ali Pabrai On “Preparing for a HIPAA | HITECH Audit: Emerging Best Practices in Healthcare Information Security” NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, USA – January 20, 2010 The HIMSS, Austin, TX Chapter confirmed that Ali Pabrai, CISSP (ISSAP, ISSMP), Security+, Chief Executive of ecfirst, an Inc. 500 business, will deliver an executive presentation on February 9, 2010 at Vinson & Elkins LLP (Austin, TX) between 11:30am – 1:00pm “We are very pleased that Mr. Pabrai will be presenting information about Preparing for a HIPAA/HITECH Audit to our HIMSS members and their guests. You will have an opportunity to learn how to develop a check-list for compliance and security that is valuable to review as your organization addresses vulnerabilities and gaps in security,” stated Lillian Prince Preparing for a HIPAA/HITECH Audit: Emerging Best Practices in Healthcare Information Security The HITECH Act (defined in the Economic Stimulus Bill), the, American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), has extended the reach of government regulations with regards to patient information. HIPAA Security Rules now apply to business associates in the same manner as they apply to covered entities. All requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule now directly impact business associates – this includes all Administrative, Physical and Technical Safeguards’ requirements. The HITECH Act further introduces specific requirements for business associates to report breaches by a covered entity to the HHS. Business associates that violate the HIPAA Security Standards or the required terms of their business associate contracts now will be subject to the same civil and criminal penalties as covered entities. So is your organization taking steps to comply with the new requirements of HIPAA and the HITECH Act? Key changes in the HITECH Act include regulation of business associates as well as strong security breach notice requirements. Rules are also tightened in several areas for HIPAA Privacy and Security. Penalties have been increased for non-compliance as well as significant funding for aggressive enforcement. ALI PABRAI BIO Ali Pabrai, CISSP (ISSAP, ISSMP), CSCS and member of the FBI InfraGard, is the CEO of ecfirst, an Inc. 500 business in 2004 – America’s fastest growing privately held business. A highly sought after information security and regulatory compliance expert, he has successfully delivered solutions on security and compliance to hundreds of organizations worldwide. Pabrai’s clients have included Microsoft, Principal Financial, McKesson, HP, Symantec, and several government agencies such as the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and many others. Ali created the industry's first certification program on compliance and information security, the Certified Security Compliance Specialist, CSCSTM. Ali is the author of the forthcoming book, Precision Security (pre-order your exclusive copy today). For more information about Ali Pabrai, please visit http://www.pabrai.com/. ABOUT ecfirst ecfirst, an Inc. 500 business (2004), has served over 1,400 clients worldwide in the areas of compliance, security and professional services. ecfirst delivers deep expertise with its full suite of services that include; Compliance Auditing, Contingency Planning & Business Impact Analysis (BIA), Vulnerability Assessments, our industry-unique Managed Compliance Program, Single Sign-On analysis and implementation, IT Project Management, and general security and IT infrastructure solutions. The HIPAA Academy – a division of ecfirst – is the gold standard for HIPAA and HITECH Act consulting, training and certification. http://www.ecfirst.com/ ABOUT HIMSS, Austin, TX Chapter The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is focused on the optimal use of information technology and systems management for the improvement of human health. HIMSS was founded in 1961 and now has 43 chapters that represent more than 17,000 individual members. Their mission is "to lead change in the healthcare information and management systems field through knowledge sharing, advocacy, collaboration, innovation, and community affiliations." For more information regarding the HIMSS, Austin, TX Chapter please contact: Lillian Prince For more information regarding ecfirst deliverables or to bring Ali Pabrai to your site, please contact: John Schelewitz E: John.Schelewitz@ecfirst.com P: 480.663.3225 |
