Addressing Cybersecurity Threats in Health Centers Addressing Cybersecurity Threats in Health Centers Maddie Bishop-Harris Monday, June 9, 2025 0 302 HITEQ Center, June 2025 This article uses the 2020 incident at the Family Health Center of Worcester (FHCW) to explore innovative strategies to bolster health centers' cybersecurity, including leveraging group purchasing organizations (GPOs) for discounted solutions and implementing bug bounty programs to proactively strengthen systems. Ultimately, it investigates how these approaches can protect vital community health resources from the escalating tide of cyber threats. Read more
A Practical Guide on Intimate Partner Violence, Human Trafficking, and Exploitation and Technology Tools A Practical Guide on Intimate Partner Violence, Human Trafficking, and Exploitation and Technology Tools Molly Rafferty Wednesday, January 15, 2025 0 2437 HITEQ Center, January 2025 This practical guide features key tools and principles to help health centers (HCs) develop safe documentation for intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and exploitation (IPV/HT/E) in their electronic health records (EHRs) and other technology tools. In 2020, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) introduced new Uniform Data System (UDS) data elements for health centers (HCs) to report on IPV and HT/E. With the evolving landscape of data use in medical... Read more
Health Center Health IT Emergency Response Resources Health Center Health IT Emergency Response Resources Molly Rafferty Tuesday, October 22, 2024 0 4642 Updated January 2025 Ready to take the next step towards enhanced IT preparedness? The resources linked below, organized by topic, share actionable strategies that health centers can implement to move towards greater resilience. Read more
Health Center Resilience in the Face of Cyber Adversity Health Center Resilience in the Face of Cyber Adversity Molly Rafferty Wednesday, February 21, 2024 0 5405 A Case Study of the Family Health Center of Worcester’s Ransomware Incident, February 2024 The use of ransomware — malicious software that restricts access to computer systems with financial demands — has escalated, targeting health centers and putting countless lives at risk. This dire reality came to the forefront during the alarming ransomware attack on the Family Health Center of Worcester, Inc. (FHCW), where the personal health information and care continuity for thousands of patients were compromised. This resource uses FHCW's experience as a case study to demonstrate the... Read more
Navigating Compliance Challenges with the Information Blocking Rule: A Collection of Case Studies Navigating Compliance Challenges with the Information Blocking Rule: A Collection of Case Studies Molly Rafferty Monday, September 25, 2023 0 9138 HITEQ Center and Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, September 2023 The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) 21st Century Cures Act Information Blocking Rule (Info Blocking Rule) prohibits covered actors – including health care providers, health IT developers of certified health IT, and health information exchanges/health information networks– from engaging in practices likely to interfere with, prevent, or materially discourage access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI). The Info... Read more
Health Center Guidelines for Implementing FHIR and the Information Blocking Rule Health Center Guidelines for Implementing FHIR and the Information Blocking Rule Molly Rafferty Wednesday, September 6, 2023 0 9825 HITEQ Center, September 2023 This resource provides guidance to health centers for implementing FHIR in compliance with the Information Blocking Rule. Read more
Keeping the Pediatric PHI Secure: Using the Security Risk Assessment Tool Keeping the Pediatric PHI Secure: Using the Security Risk Assessment Tool Nye Day 11/16/2022 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM 0 7302 Cisco Webex Meetings This webinar discussed the importance and unique considerations for cyberthreats in pediatric health care settings, followed by a Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool walkthrough. Read more
Health Center Information Blocking Avenger Health Center Information Blocking Avenger HITEQ Center Tuesday, April 13, 2021 0 25687 A HITEQ Center Training Badge In March 2019, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued a Proposed Rule, 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program. ONC released a final rule in March 2020, published in the Federal Register on May 1, 2020. The Final Rule on Information Blocking prohibits actors from blocking the exchange of electronic health information and seeks to increase the ease and choices available... Read more
SAMHSA 42 CFR Part 2 Revised Rule SAMHSA 42 CFR Part 2 Revised Rule Molly Rafferty 1/19/2021 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM 0 32519 HITEQ Highlights Webinar New guidelines from SAMHSA released in July 2020 are designed to improve coordination of care for patients in treatment for substance disorder, while protecting confidentiality against unauthorized disclosure and use of patient information. View this HITEQ webinar on changes to SAMHSA’s 42 CFR Part 2 rule (Part 2) which protects individuals receiving substance use disorder treatment by defining privacy and security requirements for written, electronic and verbal information. This... Read more
Telehealth Policy during Coronavirus/ COVID-19 Pandemic Telehealth Policy during Coronavirus/ COVID-19 Pandemic HITEQ Center Wednesday, April 22, 2020 0 43200 Updated 11/16/2020 with NIST Guidance on Securing the Telehealth Remote Monitoring Ecosystem We are adding additional telehealth policy information relevant to coronavirus/ COVID-19 pandemic as it impacts health centers as it becomes available. Read more
Health IT Emergency Response Plan Assessment Tool Health IT Emergency Response Plan Assessment Tool Health IT Emergency Response Plan Assessment Tool
Health IT Financial Forecasting Tool Health IT Financial Forecasting Tool Health IT Financial Forecasting Tool
Health Center Emergency Response Exercise Set Health Center Emergency Response Exercise Set Health Center Emergency Response Exercise Set