Privacy & Security
Lisa Gallagher, HIMSS senior director of privacy and security, isn't particularly optimistic about providers' ability to prove patient data is safe. Asked to assign a letter grade to the security situation in U.S. hospitals, she says, "probably a C."
New York hookers spreading HIV. Killer mosquitos. An anthrax-toting terrorist. An urban-scape rife with the sick and poor. These are just some of the challenges tackled by Farzad Mostashari, a Yale-educated physician, epidemiologist and self-confessed computer nerd. His current mission: moving doctors from the Age of Gutenberg into the 21st century. For starters, he'd like them to use e-mail at the office.
Walgreens will use Surescripts' Clinical Interoperability services to electronically deliver patient data directly to primary care providers. The intent, say Walgreens officials, is to improve the coordination of care.
Todd Park will take over as assistant to the President and U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO), filling a vacancy created by last month's departure of Aneesh Chopra, the nation's first CTO.
HL7: not just for IT anymore. That thinking is the catalyst behind a triptych of recent moves designed to open the standards process up to more health professionals, notably caregivers.
For physicians, the proposed rule for meaningful use Stage 2 offers some changes that make it easier for healthcare providers to demonstrate the requirements, including aligning measures with other quality reporting programs.
When Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki met at the Pentagon earlier this week, EHRs was one of the topics on the table.
It's essential to take the steps necessary to prepare against a data breach, but after one does occur, knowing how to respond can make all the difference. Mahmood Sher-Jan, vice president of product management at ID Experts, offers five steps to take once a breach has happened.
Premier healthcare alliance has partnered with Carmel, Ind.-based Clinical Architecture in an effort to normalize disparate healthcare data and help care providers better understand and use health information.
A think tank with a healthcare task force chaired by former Senators Tom Daschle, a Democrat, and Bill Frist, MD, a Republican, is advocating for improved and better-used health information technology. Among the group's recommendations is "robust" data exchange.