HHS eyes data-security guidance for researchers assisting CMS with reducing Medicare costs

The Department of Health and Human Services has pledged to consider developing guidance for researchers that access and handle data on Medicare beneficiaries to ensure adequate security controls, a move in response to a recent Government Accountability Office report requested by key members of Congress in the wake of numerous data breaches affecting the healthcare sector.

Specifically, the GAO report says the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services failed to adopt adequate oversight measures to ensure researchers accessing data...