Individuals from Catholic Health East and Health Care Service Corp. recognized for outstanding leadership and contributions to healthcare information protection

Feb 2, 2011

Frisco, TX – February 2, 2011 – The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) announced today the recipients of the HITRUST InfoSec Awards for 2010. The InfoSec Awards recognize organizations and individuals that have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the advancement of information security in the healthcare industry. The individuals honored for their contributions are Dr. Bryan Cline, Chief Information Security Officer and Director of Information Security for Catholic Health East, and Raymond Biondo, Chief information Security Officer for Health Care Service Corp.

“Announcing the annual winners of the HITRUST InfoSec Awards is always a rewarding time for HITRUST as we reflect on the progress that has been made across the industry in advancing the state of information security,” said Daniel Nutkis, Chief Executive Officer, HITRUST. “I applaud the winners of this year’s awards. By recognizing these examples of innovation and leadership, we hope to drive the industry forward with even greater momentum as we continue to collaborate to find more efficient and effective risk-based solutions.”

The InfoSec Awards acknowledge successes in multiple categories relating to information security in the healthcare industry. Dr. Bryan Cline of Catholic Health East is being recognized as an individual award winner in the category of “Security and Privacy Practices” for his tireless efforts to improve information security and simplify compliance in his own organization, and his active leadership in educating the industry on sound risk management practices through conference presentations and numerous articles in security and healthcare publications. Dr. Cline”s efforts involve developing and implementing a robust security governance model and adopting a comprehensive security framework, the HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF), to effectively and efficiently assess risk and the state of compliance for Catholic Health East. Dr. Cline has also worked with various security software companies to align their products with this model, resulting in an admirable alignment of people, process and technology to streamline an organization”s security posture.

Raymond Biondo of Health Care Service Corp. is being recognized as an individual award winner in the category of “Awareness & Culture” for building awareness that information security must be intimately linked to the organization’s overall business objectives. This awareness allows both business and technology leaders to use information security resources to make risk-based decisions and ensures the highest level of protection and confidence. One method through which Mr. Biondo builds awareness is a corporate blog that educates employees on current information security topics and allows him to measure the pulse of employees” attitudes about information protection. Mr. Biondo also implemented a process by which information security risks are evaluated by an executive risk advisory council that is empowered to address the risks appropriately. This has resulted in technology and business leadership working closer together to make decisions in accordance with the company”s appetite for risk. Fostering a culture of security awareness at Health Care Service Corp. has led to improved information security practices and better alignment with strategic business priorities.

The InfoSec Awards will be presented to the winners at the HITRUST Leadership Roundtable event, taking place March 30-31, 2011, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Leadership Roundtable is an exclusive and collaborative forum for executives responsible for the protection of healthcare information to explore issues relating to healthcare information security, privacy and risk management.

The 2011 InfoSec Award nominations are open now to individuals and organizations within the healthcare industry or that support the industry. Information security vendors are eligible for nomination and may also submit a nomination on behalf of an end-user. For more information or to submit a nomination, visit HITRUSTalliance.net/infosec_awards.

About HITRUST
The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) was born out of the belief that information security should be a core pillar of, rather than an obstacle to, the broad adoption of health information systems and exchanges. HITRUST, in collaboration with healthcare, business, technology and information security leaders, has established the Common Security Framework (CSF), a certifiable framework that can be used by any and all organizations that create, access, store or exchange personal health and financial information. Beyond the establishment of the CSF, HITRUST is also driving the adoption of and widespread confidence in the framework and sound risk management practices through awareness, education, advocacy and other outreach activities. For more information, visit HITRUSTalliance.net.
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Media Contact
Mary Hall
HITRUST
972.330.4919
pr@HITRUSTalliance.net