Recognized for developing an innovative approach to data breach response.

Meredith Phillips, chief information privacy & security officer at Henry Ford Health System in Michigan, was presented the PHI Hero Award at the 2016 PHI Protection Network Conference in Philadelphia last week.

Phillips was recognized for building a culture of privacy and security across all departments and developing an innovative approach to data breach response. The first step toward a more nimble response to data breaches was the establishment of a new Information Privacy Office (IPO), which has approximately 60 employees, with an expanded scope to include all confidential data. Rather than individuals at separate facilities managing privacy, the new centralized IPO structure ensures consistency and allows the organization to respond more rapidly to new regulations.

Phillips recently became president of the board at the Medical Identity Fraud Alliance, which provides leadership, education and awareness to drive the development of best-in-class technologies and influences changes to regulation, regarding personally identifiable information and protected health information (PHI). She also became the chair of the Michigan Healthcare Cybersecurity Council, an independent public-private partnership whose mission is to protect the critical healthcare infrastructure in the State of Michigan and to mature and advance the state of cybersecurity preparedness across the healthcare industry in Michigan.

In accepting the award, Phillips described some of the challenges she has faced at Henry Ford and how she has learned from them. She said getting senior-level executives to embrace change is critical.

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March 22, 2016 by David Raths, Healthcare Informatics