Spencer Fane attorney Julie Roth was recently interviewed for an article in The Kansas City Star that investigated the concern that pagers used by medical staff in hospitals may lack the security mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Titled “Does your hospital still use pagers? Your personal information may be at risk,” the article details a recent breach in security where a person accidentally intercepted private patient data from pagers used at hospitals in Kansas and Missouri. Julie noted that while there isn’t any specific federal guidance on pager data, hospitals may increase risk by using them. “Encryption really is an industry standard,” Julie explained. “So if we’re transmitting [personal health information], then we want to be certain it is being transmitted in an encrypted or otherwise secure format.”
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