Do mHealth Apps Fall under HIPAA Laws?

The short answer…yes! In February of this year, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a document covering just this very topic. The longer answer…as mHealth grows, so do the number of questions surrounding privacy of records, the relationships of app developers and covered entities under the act, and the scenarios in which the definitions might be made.

2016 EHR Trends Include Mobile Access

EHR Trends Include Mobile Access by Physicians and Patients

A well-known research firm, Black Book forecasts the healthcare cloud market in the U.S. and Europe to grow nearly 24 percent by 2020. By living in the cloud, EHR records are accessible by physicians and patients alike. And making the accessibility even more convenient is the ability to reach the data records via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Interoperability Standards from Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources

While no one technology or protocol will be able to unify the nation’s electronic medical records and provide true interoperability, Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) is aiming to provide a reliable pathway into data about patient populations and allow that information to be readily available and serve as a base set of resources that,

Security Measures for Medical Devices and Medical Information Are Number One Concern

Security Measures Medical Practice

It is the job of many to be concerned with the security of medical information that is passed back and forth between institutions and is saved in programs and on servers around the globe. It is also becoming increasingly important that the security of internet connected medical machines such as x-ray machines,

NY State EPCS goes electronic controlled substances

NY State EPCS goes electronic controlled substances

Electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) improves patient safety and care. It plays an important part in helping to fight America’s opioid abuse epidemic by eliminating the exposure of a practitioner’s signature and DEA number. 21 million original prescriptions for opioids were written, not including refills,

ONC Releases 2016 Interoperability Standards

Interoperability refers to systems that allow providers to share data among different practitioners, insurers, billing/scheduling systems and health information exchanges improving quality of patient care, improving efficiency of reporting and data filing, and making life saving information more readily available.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently released its 80-page 2016 Interoperability Standards Advisory.

EHRs Move to the Cloud

Cloud computing basically refers to a process of sharing resources to optimize performance. Practically speaking, that means using a network of computers to store and process information, rather than a single machine. Cloud based systems offer attractive benefits to many practices, especially those with less operating budget.

One major benefit to cloud based Electronic health records (EHR) is that they are cost-effective –

Expanded Section 179 Means Major Tax Breaks on Computer and Software Purchases

The “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015” (PATH Act) has been passed by both the House and Senate and will be signed into law – it expands the Section 179 deduction limit to $500,000.  Businesses can take advantage of these legal tax incentives to help lower their operating costs. The Section 179 Deduction is a tax incentive that is easy to use,