Healthcare privacy and security experts from around the United States will gather in Boston on Sept. 8-9 to share information and strategize over how to combat cybercrime, insider threats and other pressing challenges.

The two-day Privacy & Security Forum, presented by HIMSS Media and Healthcare IT News, coincidentally comes less than one month after a huge breach affected 4.5 million patients at Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, which encompasses 206 hospitals in 29 states. It was the second largest HIPAA breach ever reported.

"We're learning through experience, and what we see happening out there (is) that more and more of the focus of breaches and attempts to get into systems is being turned toward healthcare," said Ed Marx, CIO of Texas Health Resources, who will deliver a keynote address on Sept. 9 at the forum.

The two-day event comprises 19 sessions and 43 speakers from such respected healthcare organizations as Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Partners Healthcare, Parkland Health & Hospital System and Seattle Children’s Hospital. Speakers will address cybercrime, medical device security, risk mitigation, HIPAA regulations, insider threats and vendor and other third-party compliance, among other topics.

“When it comes to privacy and security, the stakes have never been higher,” said Mike Moran, the forum’s program director. “Our goal with the forum is to create an environment that allows attendees to share information and best practices with each other and learn from some of the best healthcare privacy-and-security experts in the country.”

About 250 attendees are expected at the Boston forum, about the same as attended a similar forum this past June in San Diego.

“At a conference like this there are two good opportunities,” said San Diego attendee Michael Allred, identity and access manager at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. “(That’s) to hear what other people are doing. Often, it’s the same things we are dealing with, and hopefully some of them have solved those problems. And to interact with the vendors and be able to get some of those ideas of how to deal with the problems we deal with every day."

In his opening keynote in Boston (“Climate Change: It is All About Managing Risk, Not Just Compliance”), Aetna CISO Jim Routh will make a business case showing that security programs only focused on compliance are an expensive proposition and don't adequately prepare for security threats and vulnerabilities on the horizon.

In his keynote, (“Stop the Bleeding: It’s Time to Get Serious about Privacy and Security”) Marx will outline what he sees as the keys to security excellence in healthcare.

Other forum speakers and sessions include:

• John Halamka, CIO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – “Battle Ready: Technology Countermeasures for the Security Cold War;”
• Linda Sanches, senior advisor for health information privacy, Office for Civil Rights – “HIPAA Enforcement Update;”
• Fernando Martinez, senior vice president and CIO, Parkland Health & Hospital System – “Hidden Pitfalls: Identify and Manage the Latent Risks in Your Organization;”
• Cris Ewell, CISO, Seattle Children’s Hospital – “The New Security Realty: Assume the Breach and Reduce Your Risk;”
• Heather Roszkowski, CISO, Fletcher Allen Health Care – “Present Hurdles, Future Aspirations: Top Security Concerns, Initiatives, and Insights;”
• Darren Lacey, CISO, Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine – “Bad Connections: Addressing the Vulnerabilities of Medical Devices;”
• Stephanie Musso-Mantione, HIPAA Privacy Officer, Stony Brook University Hospital – “Dealing With Vendors: Best Practices for Vendor Contracting and 3rd Party Compliance;”
• Anahi Santiago, CISO, Einstein Healthcare Network – “The Enemy Within: Dealing With Insider Threats;” and
• Esmond Kane, deputy CISO, Partners Healthcare – “Shield Versus Sword: Defense in the Age of Asymmetric Cyber Warfare.”

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