August 22, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
article
Too often in health systems, emergency room (ER) violence gets overlooked or is under reported. While the matter has gotten the attention of several states’ lawmakers, it remains a problem. Recently, Beaumont Health system turned to technology to help combat the violent behavior.
August 22, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
Robert Vietzke, vice president, network services, of Internet2, a bold nationwide and indeed international initiative to lay the groundwork for a revolution in 21st-century computing, speaks exclusively with Healthcare Informatics regarding what he and his colleagues are doing that has the potential to transform healthcare across multiple dimensions.
August 21, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
As the Sept. 23 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Omnibus Rule compliance date approaches, the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, has announced the adoption of new program criteria that supports this legislation.
August 21, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
The non-profit Center for Internet Security (CIS) has announced a new initiative to help bolster the protection of Internet-enabled medical devices from cyber attacks. CIS is working with medical device manufacturers, healthcare facilities, and cyber security experts to develop new security benchmarks.
August 21, 2013 David Raths
news
Imagine going to the doctor’s office for a checkup and finding procedures or prescriptions in your medical record that were a surprise to you. Just as with financial identity theft, an increasing number of Americans are finding themselves the victims of medical identity fraud, as thieves steal their health-insurance number, Social Security number and other personal information and resell them on the black market for use by other people.
August 20, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
A new tool developed by the American College of Surgeons has been designed to quickly and easily estimate patient-specific postoperative complication risks for almost all operations, according to research findings in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
August 19, 2013 Mac McMillan
blog
There seems to still be a fair amount of discussion around what makes a vendor a business associate. This is actually troubling when you consider that we are about 30 days away from enforcement of the new rules.
August 18, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
The stringent requirements embedded in what is being called the HIPAA Final Omnibus Rule, as published by the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 25, are requiring compliance by next month with a whole new range of patient data privacy protection requirements. Kathryn Coburn of the Cooke, Kobrick & Wu law firm shares her perspectives on what healthcare IT leaders need to know.
August 16, 2013 Mark Hagland and Rajiv Leventhal
article
Last October, the 20-plus-hospital UPMC health system launched a massive big-data initiative, one that will cost the organization more than $100 million over the next five years. With leaders in that organization collaborating to leverage data, the organization this spring launched a formal Data Governance Program. Recently, Terri Mikol, director, data governance, at UPMC, spoke with Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland and Assistant Editor Rajiv Leventhal regarding the organization’s data governance initiative.
August 16, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
Affinity Health Plan, a New York-based managed care plan, will pay more than $1.2 million in HIPAA violations after a photocopier containing confidential medical information was compromised, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
August 15, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), a non-profit organization focused on the cure to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, has introduced an iPhone app that serves as an interactive disease management tracker.
August 14, 2013 Gabriel Perna
article
At Cullman Regional Medical Center (CRMC), a 145-bed facility in Cullman County, Ala., leaders have implemented an iPhone app that helps providers with medication reconciliation, readmission rates, and nursing accuracy and efficiency. President and CEO Jim Weidner explains why this technology was a worthy investment.
