Government & Policy

 Privacy remains an important determinant of how technology is deployed, even during these times of COVID-19, argues HIMSS' chief clinical officer Dr. Charles Alessi.

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) denies claims that the app has failed NHS clinical safety and security test.

HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy awarded $5 million to help develop cross-state licensure for clinicians.

The interim rule is extending the mitigation of shared losses back to January 2020.

As the clock begins ticking on deadlines to meet federal rules implementing the 21st Century Cures Act, healthcare organizations must start the push toward compliance now. If done well, the effort should be worth it.

How far could we have been in managing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic if we used the tools available to us such as data sharing, genomics, apps, and pandemic warning systems, instead of waiting to implement them on a rainy day? Bogi Eliasen, director of health at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies and HIMSS Future50 leader asks why we waited so long?

Also - Dutch company offers free analysis of COVID-19 CT scans.

Dr. Don Rucker, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, discusses his work with the Global Digital Health Partnership initative.

The rules move the healthcare system from an environment built by providers and payers to one in which patients are in control, Rucker says.

"This pandemic really points out the need to have interoperability," said the National Coordinator for Health IT in a HIMSS20 Digital session on Thursday. "If we'd had this rule a few years ago, we'd be in a far better spot."