One effective solution to mitigate the problem came from Chris Wright, an attendee who works for the Department of Veteran Affairs. “Understand now, if you plug [your phone] in and the government catches you doing this, our IT specialists are authorized to pull every bit of data off of your phone," he tells staff members.

Another audience member, a clinical engineer at UC Health in Colorado, suggested a policy that states if a staffer, other than cardiologists and physicians, brings in a phone charger or other USB cord, he/she could be fired. The reason for this serious consequence, she said, is that the misuse of a USB port not only fails a device, but can also result in costly and dangerous HIPAA violations.

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