A new draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeks to clarify how Unique Device Identifiers (UDIs) are included on medical devices.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has reached a settlement of $2.75 million with the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson concerning the matter of a missing laptop.

A report on privacy and security concerns surrounding new technology that collects health data, such as wearable fitness trackers, admitted regulations like HIPAA haven’t kept pace with new developments.

In recent news, healthcare hackers such as “TheDarkOverlord” have been stealing private patient records and parading their spoils around the internet. He claims to be selling these private documents on the black market is ransom is not paid by the healthcare providers he initially stole the information from. This activity has caught the interest of the FBI, reports Information Management. 

After reversing a five-year-old ban on healthcare organizations sending orders in May, the Joint Commission has changed plans again, announcing in its June newsletter the previous ban won’t be lifted until September.

The safety, effectiveness and data security of mobile healthcare applications were examined by a U.S. House subcommittee in a July 13 hearing, with lawmakers alternating between excitement over their potential and concern that consumers’ data isn’t being protected.

It’s been more than a year since the House passed the 21st Century Cures Act, which aims to speed up regulatory approval for medical devices and drugs, but the Senate’s chief advocate for the legislation said it’ll be at least another seven weeks before its put up for a vote.

HHS’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has released its much-anticipated guidance on how healthcare organizations can better understand and respond to ransomware attacks, including defining such incidents as breaches that require affected individuals to be notified under HIPAA in most circumstances.