This week's discussion will be a bit different. We will train, or teach, each other about data breaches. This will necessitate some up-front research before posting this week.
Locate a health data breach from within the past year. It would be ideal to focus on a breach that happened in your community or that you have had some exposure to personally or professionally.
Once you have identified the breach, review the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Breach Portal.Links to an external site.Look specifically at the dates and the number of patients affected by the breach. Now, briefly summarize the breach. Using what you have learned so far, including HIPAA, discuss how and why this breach occurred. What were the consequences?
Close by recommending what the healthcare organization can do to prevent further breaches from happening. Make it compelling. Use the best practice information, but also don't be afraid to also propose something new and outside the box. As you create your post, keep it concise and readable, and remember that you are doing this to teach your peers about some aspect of data breaches. Keep that goal in mind.
Have a Conversation With Each Other
As you read each others' short teaching scenarios, talk with them about what you have learned from their work. Consider the following questions as you frame your responses, but don't be limited by them, or try to tackle them all. Why do you think so many data breaches occur? What surprised you about the HIPAA breaches your colleagues presented? What common themes do you see and what do they suggest about prevention strategies?
Your initial post is due by Wednesday at 11:59 PM ET at the latest. Your responses to others are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET.
Discussion Guidelines
This discussion is a dynamic conversation - a creative judgment-free zone for you to explore new ideas together. While you will apply evidence-based best practices, we’re looking for open sharing of experiences, opinions, ideas, and solutions. So, embrace out of the box thinking, or perhaps even get rid of the box altogether! When reading what your classmates have written, look for where you can build on their ideas. Magnificent solutions arise when we dare to assume the positive and recognize new possibilities!