Jail Time for Physician's HIPAA Violation Highlights Need to Redouble

A visiting cardiothoracic surgeon from China, working as a researcher at UCLA School of Medicine, became the first person sentenced to prison for unauthorized access to medical records in violation of HIPAA.

The jailing of the Chinese researcher highlights the fact that providers and employers no longer can be complacent about HIPAA compliance.

 

Read the article by following the link below:

Jail Time for Physician's HIPAA Violation Highlights Need to Redouble Compliance Efforts

 

 

With so much information available to so many people, businesses need an advocate on their side.  Dolvin works with industry experts Cyber Security Auditors & Administrators (CSA2) to help you create a defensible position against the ever increasing tide of regulations, fines and breaches.

 

Contact Dolvin today for your risk analysis and assessment.  We are here to help.

 

Improved Efficiencies with Business Intelligence and Enterprise Resource Planning

The need to drive efficiency in the enterprise has never been greater.  Reduce costs, improve efficiencies, and sell more.  The road to recovery and a solid balance sheet depends on timely decisions based on facts.  Business Intelligence takes over where the canned reports in your ERP system leave off.  Dashboards with drill down capability allow management quick access to critical information.

Focus Research has posted a report from the Aberdeen Group that takes the reader on an analysis of Business Intelligence and how that information can build on top of Enterprise Databases.

Prompted by volatile markets and a troubled economy, the need to reduce costs is the top business driver impacting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) strategies.  Combine this need with the ever-increasing need for transparency to both public and privately held companies and the marriage of ERP with Business Intelligence (BI) becomes the perfect storm, igniting improved performance and visibility.  This report serves as a benchmark to those companies seeking these results.

Business decision-makers sit on massive amounts of operational data. Unfortunately an ERP system alone is not the tool to bring order to the chaos. Consider how you can improve business performance and enhance the visibility into your organization by adding a BI module to your ERP system. Hand-picked by Focus editors, this complimentary white paper will help make all that data meaningful:

The ERP/BI Connection: Adding Value through Actionable Intelligence

This report provides:

·         A benchmarking study of Best-in-Class companies that have implemented BI.

·         Insight into the impact of integrating a BI module with an ERP system.

·         Specific recommendations on how your organization can achieve Best-in-Class results.

Overwhelmed with data you're not using effectively? Looking for ways to get the most out of your ERP system? Business Intelligence might be the answer for your business.

Dolvin works with industry experts to bring solutions to your business.  Contact us today for an evaluation of your needs.

Distribution Management Software

Distribution Management Software has emerged as a leading cost-cutting measure for today's most competitive businesses. 

The integration of your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and long term growth strategies will ensure your future success.  Newer systems empower customer service, reduce costs, and deliver significant return on investment.

Improvement of Inventory Control, Warehouse management, Purchasing, Contact Relationship Management, Business Intelligence or the integration of E-Commerce solutions all lead to superior efficiency for your business with a lower Total Cost of Ownership and fast Return on Investment.  A comprehensive solution will let you manage and analyze virtually every aspect of your business.

You need a trusted advisor to help navigate the confusing media surrounding ERP solutions.  Each supplier has their specialty niche.  Determining if that niche fits your business model is the key to successful solution.  There simply is too much information available in today’s electronic age. 

A Google search for ERP solutions gives about 6 million results.  Where do you start?  How do I know if the person I am talking to just wants to sell me what they have or are they truly interested in my business’ success. 

Contact Dolvin today to see how the integration of your enterprise will help you compete in today’s complex business environments.  We understand that as your advisor we have a vested interest in your business.  Your success is our success.  We build our reputation one relationship at a time.

Former waiter charged with stealing credit card numbers.

Former waiter charged with stealing credit card numbers.

By Ruben Castaneda

A former waiter at a TGI Fridays restaurant in Laurel was indicted on charges he copied and sold the numbers of 73 credit cards, Prince George’s authorities said.

Read the full article by clicking here.

It really should not be any great surprise that we see these types of reports.  Apparently this guy’s mistake, which led to the discovery and his arrest, was not realizing who he was stealing from.  A couple of Secret Service agents ate at the restaurant and noticed the unauthorized charges.

What may surprise many more is how common this type of theft is and how often it occurs.  Sometimes a credit card is stolen and the offender charges up a storm.  That is relatively easy to spot on your statement or alert from your credit card company. 

What is much more prevalent are small, but numerous charges.  Small, like less than $9.  You read that correct, small charges are unlikely to be seen and even if they are discovered, they are too small to prosecute.  Why bother to steal a small amount?  Credit Card theft is a high volume low margin theft.  Steal lots of card numbers and charge lots of small amounts.  This adds up and ultimately makes everything more expensive.

There are many aspects to crimes like these.  First and foremost, the business management has public relations issue to contend with.  Will customers choose another establishment?  For how long?  How much business will be lost?  After the bad press settles a good many people will forget the incident, unless they were the one of the one’s affected.

In general a significant percentage of breaches are due to human error or negligence.  Until there is a time when having the information is of no value, people without will take from those who have.  Business tries to build a better mouse trap and the mice get smarter.

Dolvin Consulting and Cyber Security Auditors and Administrators (CSA2) work with companies to help them determine their risk exposure and build a Written Information Security Plan (WISP) and store that plan and other critical documents in a secure WISP-Vault.  You may never be able to eliminate all risks, but you can be prepared.  Perhaps as punishment or perhaps as a revenue stream, Government regulations are becoming more stringent and the fines are growing. 

You need someone knowledgeable on your side to help you manage your risk.  We would like to help you before trouble comes a knocking, but we also have experts in post-breach situations.  Do not wait, Contact Dolvin today.

What's the right MRP solution for your business?

In addition to selecting a trusted advisor, you can start a top level search with many online resources including the comparison chart on INSIDE-ERP web site.  This five page PDF lists many, but not all ERP solutions. 

This certainly is not a one-stop solution to your challenges.  You will need help matching your challenges with possible solutions.  Not all solutions will require a new system, however, it is sometimes easier to replace everything with a new unified system.  It is this integration and unification around a central repository of information that drives efficiency. 

I would suggest starting with the column entitled “Target Manufacturing Industries”.  This information will allow you to narrow this list to solution providers that target your industry.  The next column to watch is “How to Buy”.  Why? Because, where you get your support after the sales is an important as the pre-sales.  Will you be dealing directly with the software provider or a third party or both?

The report will give you fast facts on the market leaders, product types, pricing and target industries, including:

·         Side-by-side assessment of the latest MRP solutions

·         The basics on pricing, product types and environment

·         Highlights on how to buy the right solution for your business

Download your report by clicking here.

Next step, contact Dolvin for advice on how to interpret the report and find out if the right solution for your business is included in the report.

What do I need in ERP and a Trusted Advisor?

I had an interesting conversation with someone new recently and they wanted to know what I do, how I do it and finally what they needed.  Most interesting and importantly, they wanted to know about my company and the business relationships that I maintained (first).  They knew there was so much information available and needed someone to help them wade through those waters.  They also knew that the person they asked for help needed to respect their interests first and foremost.

It is not uncommon today to have many choices in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions.  Gone are the days when Henry Ford was in charge and cars came in any color you wanted as long as they were black.  Sometimes for smaller companies ERP is simply not the answer.  There can be some significant upfront costs associated with any new solution and ERP is no exception.  For smaller companies an ERP solution may not be affordable.  A Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis should be run and reviewed.

It is never an easy decision to add to already overworked people the implementation of a new solution.  An existing solution may not be perfect, but it functions at some level.  Top management needs to learn and know what is coming down the line, manage expectations, and get buy-in from all levels in the organization.  Yes, ALL levels.  Everyone in a company is responsible for making your customers happy, including the guy that pushes the broom.  A company needs to operate as an integrated well oiled machine.  That is the key in an ERP solution.  All departments and people working together utilizing a unified repository of information that drives efficiency across the enterprise.   

There are so many choices out there.  There are many modules to sort through.  What do I need?  What do I want in the future?  Will the software work with my organization?  What is my competition doing?  Do I purchase them all up-front or do I implement the basics first, and then add more modules as I grow?

An organization really needs a trusted advisor that has their best interest at heart.  Someone with experience in their industry and with ERP solutions.  Someone that is willing to put your organization ahead of their own profits. 

The majority of the people and companies that Dolvin works with come from referrals.  This is our highest form of complement.  Someone respects our efforts well enough to give our name to someone else.  We are not perfect, but we always do our best.  You are our customer and our responsibility.  That is not something we take lightly.

Contact us to see how we are different than the organizations you are now working with.

The 2011 Focus Experts' Guide to Business Intelligence

"The reason that BI is fundamentally about data analysis and experience has shown that those who quickly understand their customers, their prospects and their performance then take actions accordingly have a big ongoing advantage in follow-on revenues, spend efficiency and effectiveness and flexibility over those who don’t."

The Focus Experts' Guide to Business Intelligence explains:

• BI solutions, their features and the market in 2011
• Key solution, cost and vendor considerations
• Our recommended BI solutions for different buyer types

 

Business Intelligence (BI) software has gone from an afterthought to a driver of competitive advantage for both large enterprises and midsize firms. It should be among the top few applications that help run your business, but not all BI solutions fit every situation -- and they are often pricey.

Figure out what stage of BI "maturity" you are in and then what features you need and what vendor choices you have at that stage. If you need to pick the right BI vendor and solution, this Experts' Guide is a must-read!

After reading this guide contact Dolvin to see how we can help you decide which, if any, solution is right for you at this point in time.  We are happy to help you navigate the complicated waters of business intellegence.