Kroll Fraud Solutions’ New HITECH Hotline Eases Burden of Data Breach Notification for Healthcare

Healthcare facilities face an increasingly complex landscape of breach notification requirements for protected health information (PHI). The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act ups the ante, pressing entities to notify within 60 days of discovery. Kroll’s expanded data breach solutions lend necessary expertise, manage compliance and allow the facility to maintain focus on healthcare continuum.

Nashville, TN (PRWEB) June 30, 2010 -- Today Kroll Fraud Solutions, a leading provider of data protection and identity theft response services, launched a new HITECH Hotline to help ease the burden of data breach notification for healthcare organizations nationwide.

Currently, under HITECH if there are 10 or more affected individuals for whom the breached organization has insufficient or out-of-date contact information, the organization must provide substitute notification – either on the homepage of the organization’s website or in a major print or broadcast media -- for a period of 90 days. That posting must include a toll-free telephone number, active for at least 90 days, where individuals can learn whether their unsecured protected health information (PHI) was included in the breach. The knowledgeable call center operations provided via the HITECH Hotline not only aids Kroll’s healthcare clients with meeting necessary compliance requirements, but it also provides an extra layer of service to the patient/consumer population who are key to the facility’s brand and reputation long-term.

“Expecting a hospital to work its way through data breach management, and also to set-up and staff a toll-free telephone line for at least 3 months, can really prevent that facility’s return to normal – caring for patients and their families,” says Brian Lapidus, chief operating officer for Kroll Fraud Solutions, “Consistent, compliant communication of data breach events is Kroll’s sweet spot. So we’ve enhanced our Data Breach Services suite to provide clients with the additional resources they need.”

Kroll’s data breach incident management services for healthcare clients will now offer:

A dedicated, toll-free telephone number that Kroll sets-up and staffs for that client

Call center staffed with Kroll-vetted, experienced call representatives

Assistance with any required public notification, including

“This level of emphatic, experienced customer service just isn’t an option anymore; people expect to be well cared for when a data breach is announced,” Lapidus concluded. “When our client’s team is able to do their primary job with minimal disruption while responding to and recovering from a data breach, it means we’re doing our job well.”

For more information on the HITECH Hotline, including an informational podcast detailing important Hotline features, visit: http://www.krollfraudsolutions.com/Resources/Digital-Media-and-Tools/Podcasts/HITECH-Hotline.aspx.

About Kroll
Kroll, the world's leading risk consulting company, provides a broad range of investigative, intelligence, financial, security and technology services to help clients reduce risks, solve problems and capitalize on opportunities. Kroll Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC), the global professional services firm. Kroll began providing identity theft solutions in 1999 and created its Fraud Solutions practice in 2002 in response to increasing requests from clients for counsel and services associated with the loss of sensitive personal information, and related identity protection and restoration issues facing organizations and individuals.

Since then, Kroll’s Fraud Solutions clients have included Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and government entities dealing with healthcare, financial services, insurance, consumer service, and any activity involving the collection and use of personal information. Kroll’s Fraud Solutions team presently serves over 10,000 businesses and millions of individual consumers. For more information, visit: www.krollfraudsolutions.com. For expert commentary on the latest data security and identity theft issues, visit the Kroll Fraud Solutions blog “A Dialogue on Data Security” at www.krollfraudsolutionsblog.com.

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