Government & Policy

In his $3.9 trillion fiscal year 2015 budget proposal released Tuesday, President Obama asked for $1.8 billion to support health information technology incentive payments -- the same amount he requested last year. Actual spending for this category came to $1.07 billion in 2013.

The top executive of the country's premier healthcare quality organization is resigning from the boards of two healthcare companies amid questions about the ethics of the relationships.

There will be no delay for ICD-10 conversion. But when CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner announced Thursday at HIMSS14 that CMS would be flexible on hardship exemptions for meaningful use requirements, it provided some of the relief healthcare providers -- and the professional organizations that represent them -- have been seeking.

Speaking at the HIMSS14 Annual Conference & Exhibition Feb. 26, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not disappoint.

People have concerns about meeting government regulation requirements, particularly in light of deadlines that sometimes conflict, such as those for Stage 2 meaningful use and ICD-10 conversion. Karen DeSalvo, MD, understands that and is listening.

Wouldn't it be advantageous to determine what opportunities ICD-10 will present and what risks can be mitigated today?

"Rural is not a smaller version of urban," said Tom Morris, associate administrator for rural health policy at Health Resources and Services Administration, speaking Sunday at the pre-conference symposium, "Health IT and Rural Healthcare: Embracing Opportunities and Overcoming Challenges."

IT security is complicated, made even more so by the dynamic nature of technology and the ever challenging threat landscape. It may be best to think of IT security as a chronic illness, a condition that requires ongoing treatment, testing, and re-evaluations.

When it comes to keeping patient data secure, vigilance must be institutionalized, says Daniel Berger, president and CEO of Redspin, Inc., a healthcare IT security assessment company based in Santa Barbara, CA.

Enterprises cannot move sensitive data to the cloud while relying blindly on cloud service provider security and assuming that the data is safe.