Chris Apgar, CISSP, CCISO, passed away unexpectedly on December 11, 2021.

Chris was the founder, CEO, and president of Apgar & Associates, LLC. He was a nationally recognized expert and educational instructor on information security, privacy, HIPAA, the HITECH Act, state privacy law, and electronic health information exchange. He was a frequent instructor, panelist, and panel facilitator for leading national industry groups such as AISHealth, HCPro, HIMSS, Healthcare IT News, AHIMA, and HCCA. Locally, Chris developed and conducted educational webinars for the Oregon Medical Association (OMA), assisting physicians and other medical professionals with privacy and security, and regulatory compliance.

Chris represented AHIMA on the HSCC’s Joint Cybersecurity Working Group’s Workforce Development Task Force. He served for eight years as a member of the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) Board of Directors. He was the Chair of the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Commission. He was been a member of the OrHIMA Board of Directors for the past two years. In a former life, he was the HIPAA Compliance officer for Providence Health Plans.

Chris’s clients ranged from small to large health plans, physician groups and hospitals, to third party vendors, business associates, government agencies, and healthcare associations. A nationally known speaker and author, Chris authored the McGraw-Hill Healthcare Information Technology Exam Guide chapter on the regulatory aspects of health IT. He held the designations of Certified Information Systems Security Professional and Certified Chief Information Security Officer. His longtime wife and business partner, Julia Huddleston, continues as principal, furthering their ongoing mission to support businesses striving for privacy and security excellence.