Government & Policy

Defense Department is on track to rollout new electronic health records software in the Pacific Northwest later in 2016, and officials are calling the project a new beginning toward interoperable, safe and secure patient records.

Remember ONC Regional Extension Centers? There were 62 of those federally-funded organizations, better known as RECs, created nationwide in 2009 with a mission of helping primary care physicians move from paper to digital systems.

The United States Department of Homeland Security and the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Center issued a joint cyber alert on March 31, in response to the recent surge in ransomware attacks on hospitals and other organizations.

Now the question is whether cyber criminals could someday emulate that approach to access encrypted patient data.

Ohio Governor John Kasich said during Tuesday night's Presidential Town Hall that he has a plan to replace Obamacare while Texas Senator Ted Cruz pointed to the VA as an area that needs greater accountability when it comes to healthcare.  

The group seeks permanent waivers for physicians who write 25 or fewer prescriptions per year.

Arguing that too many well-meaning providers are facing financial penalties from meaningful use, the American Hospital Association called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this week to offer more flexibility.

Physicians are embracing electronic prescribing more rapidly than ever before, according to new data from Surescripts – especially in New York.

A Government Accountability Office report points to security weaknesses and to Health and Human Services’ incomplete information about how many people are impacted when breaches happen.  

A member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a Federal Trade Commission official have called for greater protections against and notifications of ransomware attacks – and bolstered cybersecurity for healthcare overall.