NEWPORT BEACH, CA– Tuesday, October 10, 2006:ecfirst.com Healthcare today announced that its healthcare division completed its HIPAA Security Risk Analysis at Phoenix-based Integrated Health Management Services, LLC. IHMS selected ecfirst.com Healthcare for its expertise in healthcare information security and regulatory compliance.
The purpose of the engagement was to conduct an assessment of existing system’s effectiveness in maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and availability of IHMS healthcare client information on its information infrastructure. ecfirst.com used a combination of personal interviews, site visits, and assessment tools to collect information about the storage, processing and transmission of Electronic Protected Health Information (EPHI) at IHMS.
"IHMS is a business associate organization that comes into contact with EPHI from hospitals and other organizations," said Ali Pabrai, CEO of ecfirst.com. "The management team and the organization places high value in being in full compliance with HIPAA regulatory requirements. We were impressed with the determination of the executive team to address all key recommendations."
"ecfirst.com Healthcare greatly assisted us in focusing attention on HIPAA security compliance as a business associate and offered us specific recommendations to further enhance the security of information we come into contact with," said Tom Owen, Chief Operating Officer of IHMS. "We were impressed with the level of detail paid by the ecfirst.com Healthcare team to the storage and transmission of all EPHI for which we are responsible. We now have an actionable road-map to further enhance the security of our organization."
The HIPAA Security Rule requires all healthcare organizations – covered entities – to complete a thorough and comprehensive security and vulnerability assessment activity on a regular basis. This requirement directly impacts business associates such as IHMS that come into contact with EPHI. This requirement is defined within the Risk Analysis implementation specification section in the HIPAA Security Rule.
About IHMS, LLC
Integrated Health Management Services, LLC, has been created to provide both consistent and superior account receivable management services to our health care customers by demanding excellence from ourselves with compassion and respect.
For more information, visit www.ihmsllc.com.
ABOUT ECFIRST.COM HEALTHCARE
Endorsed by the American Hospital Association (AHA) for its training solutions, ecfirst.com is an Inc. 500 business focused on delivering information technology integration services to the healthcare industry. ecfirst.com Healthcare understands the hospital information technology infrastructure. Creator of the HIPAA Academy and the industry’s gold standard on HIPAA skills certification, ecfirst.com Healthcare has a diverse portfolio of hundreds of hospital clients. ecfirst.com Healthcare has delivered integrated technology solutions to hospitals all across the United States in the areas of:
- Risk Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment
- Business Impact Analysis (BIA) and Contingency Planning/Disaster Recovery
- Single Sign-On/Context Management Products and Implementation Services
- Audit Services
- Managed Information Security Services (partial to full outsourcing)
- Managed HIPAA Compliance Services (partial to full outsourcing)
- Project Management
- Technical Professional Staffing (contractors and full-time employee placement)
- Information Security Policy Templates Customized for Compliance and Tailored for Hospitals
- HIPAA as well as Information Security Compliance Training and Certification
To request a 2006 Healthcare Executive Briefing document on Regulatory Compliance and Information Security, please e-mail a request to Lorna.Waggoner@ecfirst.com. For more information, please visit www.ecfirst.com.
# # #
