In an age where data breaches are increasingly common, the security of medical data has become a paramount concern. A recent article on Wired, titled "Your Medical Data Is Code Blue," delves into the alarming frequency of medical data breaches and the profound implications they have for individuals. This situation underscores the vital importance of individuals owning and controlling their health information to dictate legitimate use and safeguard their privacy.

 This article from the AllClearID Alert Network provides a brief description of some common personally identifiable information that is targeted by identity thieves.

From the US Department of Health and Human Services website: "The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires health plans and covered health care providers to develop and distribute a notice that provides a clear, user friendly explanation of individuals rights with respect to their personal health information and the privacy practices of health plans and health care providers. This page provides options for meeting the requirement ot create notices of privacy practices (NPP)."

 Safe Shephard is an online privacy protection service that assists you in managing the personal information that you want to allow marketing and consumer information collection companies to gather and store.

This article provides a breakdown of HIPAA audit best practices from Mark Dill, director of information security at Cleveland Clinic.

This article from "Ian's Blog" a blog by a privacy and security architect named Ian Oliver provides some basic and not so basic information regarding personally identifiable information or PII.

 From the Office of Civil Rights YouTube page: "Health information is powerful medicine. Having access to your health records is a powerful tool in managing your care. This video will help you learn more about how HIPAA gives you rights to your health information."

Visit http://www.hhs.gov/ocr to learn more.