Chris Apgar CISSP, CEO and President of Apgar & Associates, LLC and former HIPAA Compliance officer for Providence Health Plans, is a nationally recognized information security, privacy, national identifier, HIPAA & electronic health information exchange expert. He has over 13 years of experience assisting health care organizations comply with HIPAA, HITECH and other privacy and security regulations. Mr. Apgar also has assisted health care, utilities and financial organizations implement privacy and security safeguards to protect against organizational harm and harm to consumers.

Mr. Apgar is a member of the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) Board of Directors member and has served on the Board for more than six years. Mr. Apgar continues to Chair the Oregon & SW Washington Healthcare, Privacy and Security Forum for the 12th year. Mr. Apgar recently joined the State of California Office of Privacy Protection project team charged with developing educational material for health care providers, health plans and consumers regarding medical identity theft and prevention. He is also a member of the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Commission.

Apgar & Associate, LLC clients range from small to large health plans, providers, healthcare clearinghouses, vendors, non-profits, government agencies and health care associations. He has been endorsed by the Oregon Medical Association to assist members with privacy, security and regulatory compliance. Mr. Apgar is also a nationally known speaker and author. More information about Mr. Apgar and Apgar & Associates, LLC can be found at http://www.apgarandassoc.com.