Interoperability

Security is a nightmare for all companies, but the very nature of healthcare makes it far worse. Are there ways to make security not merely viable, but even profitable?

When it comes to security threat severity, the Heartbleed bug doesn't miss a beat. That's according to Phil Lerner, chief information security officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who, on a scale from 1 to 10, ranks the bug a solid "high priority" at 7.5.

Boston has long proven itself a mecca for healthcare innovation, a hub of some of the best minds and most prestigious hospitals in the nation. And the 2014 Boston Children's Hospital Innovators' Showcase proved no exception.

Expectations are high and getting higher for today's healthcare CIO, who continues to be deluged with "do-it-now" projects at a time when, more than ever before, he or she is expected to bring top executive skills, the long view and strategy to the table.

Overall provider satisfaction with HIE solutions has dropped an average of 8 percent since last year as provider demands have outpaced vendor delivery, according to a new report from research firm KLAS. However, Cambridge, Mass.-based InterSystems was so pleased with its outcomes that the company provided details.

A sensor slipped under a mattress and a bedside monitor to continuously keep tabs on a patient's vital signs, such as heart rate and oxygen levels can avoid code-blue events, reduce how long a patient stays in the hospital and save costs, according to a new Harvard University Medical School study.

Without question, BYOD, or "bring your own device," offers benefits to both healthcare employees and employers. It also presents security issues. No matter who owns the device, hospitals are responsible for any data breaches that occur.

The 28-hospital Indian Health Service has failed a mock cyberattack conducted by HHS' Office of Inspector General after its computer network was discovered to have "high risk" vulnerabilities.

In order to redesign healthcare, we need to become new students of the problem -- erase the assumptions we have and approach challenges with a fresh mind.

While the U.S. continues digitizing its healthcare industry, a huge challenge is arising: not only securing those systems but verifying identities. With a steady stream of HIPAA-covered data breaches continuing over the past few years, some argue that current identity security approaches just aren't adequate.