Jessica Davis

Hackers hit the IT vendor of three Center for Orthopaedic Specialists locations in February, which locked out users and encrypted patient data.

The White House Physician was already facing an uphill battle to be confirmed when 23 people accused him of improper work conduct.

The HELP committee bill outlines ways to expand care access for addicted patients while placing limits on prescriptions.

The House Appropriations Committee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs voted to fund the VA’s planned EHR modernization project with $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2019 -- and laid down clear direction that VA must adopt the same EHR as the Department of Defense without actually naming Cerner.  The legislation, in fact, foretells that VA will sign the currently paused modernization contract with Cerner. EHR funding will drive implementation that “is identical to one being developed for the Department of Defense,” according to the funding bill. “These two identical systems will ensure our veterans get proper care, with timely and accurate medical data transferred between the VA, DoD and the private sector.”  While the funding is no doubt welcome to the VA, it does come amidst a serious time of change.   VA has seen a number of leadership moves in the last month, with the firing of VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD, and Acting CIO Scott Blackburn stepping down last week. DoD official Robert Wilkie was named acting secretary in the interim. President Donald Trump nominated White House Physician Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, MD, to replace Shulkin. But his confirmation, scheduled for Wednesday, has been delayed over allegations that include work misconduct. Prior to being ousted, Shulkin had intended to sign with Cerner in the fall, but put the contract on hold due to interoperability concerns. EHR modernization is only one piece of the VA funding. The agency will receive a total of $194.5 billion in both discretionary and mandatory funding, $9 billion more than fiscal year 2018, much of which is allocated to increasing care access to services for veterans. “Providing critical resources for the men and women of our Armed Services and their families is a top priority,” Committee Chairman Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-New Jersey, said in a statement. “We owe it to those who serve and fight for our freedom every day to ensure they have the necessary tools and support to do their jobs.” The $1.2 billion in EHR funding will be available to the agency through 2021, provided the VA gives the committee provides “quarterly reports detailing obligations, expenditures and deployment implementation by facility.”  Twitter: @JessieFDavis Email the writer: jessica.davis@himssmedia.com

MEDantex left a portion of its customer portal open to the public after it rebuilt its site due to a ransomware attack.

Quest CIO Lidia Fonseca explains that by working with customers, technology vendors can better anticipate the needs of customers and design more effective products.

Orangeworm is targeting the sector and associated vendors for what Symantec researchers believe is to conduct espionage on the industry.

In an RFI, a House committee outlines the severity of cybersecurity issues plaguing legacy software and equipment and asks stakeholders to begin tackling these challenges.

The board couldn’t rule out conflict of interest in the $62 million contract signed between Epic and the academic medical center to overhaul its legacy EHR and billing systems.

Some NHS units failed because the Cyber Essentials Plus sets a high bar, while others simply have not patched their systems appropriately, the U.K. Commons Public Accounts committee found.