In August, hackers corrupted the Web portal for Utah’s health insurance exchange and rendered the site inoperable for about ten days. The attack resulted in garbled words, blurry headlines, and some inaccessible Web pages on the site.
The online marketplace, where employers and employees can shop for health insurance policies, does have a database where personal and medical information is entered when requesting price quotes;
By Lawrence G | September 14, 2012 | Healthcare IT |
A report from the Institute of Medicine suggests that science and technology could help to increase quality and efficiency and reduce costs in the U.S. healthcare system. The Committee on the Learning Health Care System in America, a panel of eighteen experts, was convened by the IOM to identify the challenges facing healthcare today and recommend solutions to improve these.
By Lawrence G | September 11, 2012 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare IT |
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has been authorized to certify Electronic Health Records software through the permanent certification program. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) authorized CCHIT, along with four other organizations, to serve as certification bodies under the EHR incentive payment program.
By Lawrence G | September 4, 2012 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare IT |
The American Health Care Association has announced its plan to implement technology to add a hospitalization metric into its National Quality Initiative. OnPoint-30, the Web-based interactive metric from data analytics firm PointRight Inc., “will help give our members access to the right information to make a difference in their performance,” according to AHCA president and CEO Mark Parkinson.
By Lawrence G | August 30, 2012 | Healthcare IT |
A former employee at Florida Hospital Celebration Health has been arrested by the FBI and charged with accessing over 760,000 patient records and selling some for profit. After a ten-month investigation, the Bureau alleges that Dale Munroe, who worked as a registration representative in the emergency department, was able to access computer records from throughout the hospital and others in the Florida Hospital network,
By Lawrence G | August 23, 2012 | Healthcare IT, Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced last week that a medical student lost a flash drive on an employee shuttle bus in July. This marks the second data breach this year for MD Anderson, which plans to increase digital security by encrypting 26,000 computers and reinforcing employee education regarding Protected Health Information (PHI) and securing portable devices.
By Lawrence G | August 21, 2012 | Healthcare IT |
A recent survey found that almost one-third of Americans have either experienced a medical error themselves or had a friend or relative experience one. The survey by global healthcare information provider Wolters Kluwer Health noted that 73% of respondents are concerned about medical errors, with 45 percent “very concerned” about them.
The medical errors discussed in the survey include being given the wrong medication,
By Lawrence G | August 17, 2012 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare IT |
Allscripts announced this week its new collaboration with telehealth provider American Well to facilitate remote patient care with Electronic Health Records system integration. The new solution, expected to be available in January, will integrate American Well’s Online Care platform with Allscripts EHR software.
The new Allscripts telehealth solution will increase patients’
By Lawrence G | August 16, 2012 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare IT |
The Surgeons of Lake County, in Libertyville, IL, announced last month that its computer network had been hacked and data had been encrypted pending payment of a ransom. The small medical practice refused to pay for the password to its data, which included patients’ electronic medical records, instead shutting the server down and notifying authorities.
By Lawrence G | August 14, 2012 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare IT |
A new study from healthcare IT research and advisory firm CapSite indicates that 54% of hospitals plan to purchase Medical Device Integration solutions. The MDI study from the Burlington, VT-based CapSite represents insight from over 300 hospitals on the market opportunity and vendor market share across the United States.
The research study includes MDI vendors like Cerner,
By Lawrence G | August 13, 2012 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare IT |
