Medical Devices

The public platform, DTSec, contains a set of security performance requirements to prevent cyberattacks and data breaches.

Practice Fusion veterans, including former chief executive Ryan Howard, on Tuesday announced a new company called iBeat. The startup is working to create a device that will continuously monitor a user’s heart activity, the company said. Howard called the emerging offering a wearable-as-a-service. The tangible device resembles a wrist-worn smartwatch capable of alerting the user as well as caregivers and emergency responders should a heart event or irregularity occur. iBeat also consists of Larry Stone as Lead Front-end Architect, Brian Boarini as Director of Product, and Kristin Tinsley as Director of Marketing and Communications. All four previously worked at Practice Fusion, which Howard founded in 2005. Stone has worked on products for Lenovo, Tesla, Disney, AT&T, Verizon and other companies, while Boarini worked on projects at Google and Tinsley worked with MySpace and TigerText. The company said it intends to double its staff by year’s end with a focus on engineering, design, growth marketing and operations.  Twitter: SullyHIT Email the writer: tom.sullivan@himssmedia.com Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn

The new application programming interface enables information exchange in a similar way to Apple HealthKit, the company says. 

The CERT Division of Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute has released its list of 10 technologies emerging in the next five years with the greatest vulnerabilities in terms of cybersecurity, finance, personal health and safety.

Cybercriminals have set their sights on healthcare. Ransomware is the new normal. And many providers are approaching security all wrong. CIOs, CISOs, ethical hackers and other experts point the way forward. 

At the start of 2016, the current installed base of wearable activity tracking devices was just over 33 million in the U.S.

In a deal with Bausch + Lomb, IBM announced a cloud-based app that helps cataract specialists plan and conduct surgeries.

The technology, seen as a potential move toward bionics, could one day enable wireless updates for corrective lens prescriptions, if it comes to fruition.

The new group consists of tech vendors and device manufacturers working to create sets of security best practices for both providers and manufacturers.

Theranos, the embattled blood testing startup, is now under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, according to Bloomberg. The investigation is the latest in a series of hardships for the once-vaunted company, coming on the heels of a recommendation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that founder Elizabeth Holmes be banned from the blood testing business for a two-year period. In March, a study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found that cholesterol test results obtained through Theranos – which are drawn from small finger pricks – were much different than those from large laboratory companies, implying that doctors' medical decisions could be thrown off by results acquired through Theranos technology. [Also: Theranos results differed from Quest, LabCorp enough to impact care decisions, study finds] In all, Theranos' results for total cholesterol were found to be an average 9.3 percent lower than those obtained through clinical laboratories Quest and LabCorp, according to the March study. This has lead researchers to surmise that in some instances, doctors may inappropriately begin, or fail to begin, statin therapy, a drug-based regimen that aims to prevent heart disease. The investigation by the SEC, which ensures companies give accurate information to investors, was one of several described in a memo from Theranos (once valued at $9 billion) obtained by Bloomberg. The memo was originally furnished to Theranos' partners including Walgreen's, which has reportedly been looking to cut ties with the startup. "The company continues to work closely with regulators and is cooperating fully with all investigations," Theranos officials said. Before the federal investigations were announced Monday, Holmes appeared on NBC's Today show to say she was "devastated" that her lab did not discover its deficiencies. Holmes also said Theranos would rebuild its lab from scratch to avoid future problems. In addition to suggesting that Holmes be temporarily banned from the industry, CMS has proposed a number of other sanctions, including revocation of Theranos' Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 certificate – or, alternatively, a civil monetary penalty of $10,000 per day for each day of non-compliance. Theranos could delay the effective date of the sanctions by filing an appeal. Twitter: @JELagasse Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn