Healthcare IT News | Meaningful use, EHRs, ICD-10, HIE, NHIN, policy, big data and more

Q&A: Healthcare must value its data December 07, 2012 | Tom Sullivan, Editor, Government Health IT

Healthcare records "substantially more valuable than other types of records"

Even though evidence suggests that healthcare records are more valuable to crooks than financial records, three out of five healthcare organizations are not allocating enough resources to their protect patient data. Ironically, a big reason is that the industry has no way to place a value on that information. More

Dec07

Data breaches climb, could cost $7B December 06, 2012 | Erin McCann, Associate Editor

A new report shedding light on the challenges data breaches pose for the healthcare industry finds that the annual number of breaches continues to trend upward, and also could come with a nearly $7 billion price tag. More

Dec06

Consumer center stage at ONC Town Hall December 05, 2012 | Jeff Rowe, Editor, EHRWatch

Release of engagement plan coming soon

The ONC Town Hall at the mHealth Summit on Tuesday put consumers center stage with a discussion of how patients are getting plugged in to their own healthcare. More

Dec05

Q&A: Aetna CEO on mHealth December 04, 2012 | Eric Wicklund, Editor, mHIMSS

'Mobile is a powerful enabler'

Mark T. Bertolini, chairman, CEO and president of Aetna, delivered the opening keynote on Monday at the mHealth Summit. A former executive for Cigna, NYLCare Health Plans and SelectCare, he now oversees a global healthcare benefits company with some 33,000 employees in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. More

Dec04

New telehealth network in the works December 03, 2012 | Bernie Monegain, Editor

New England Telehealth Consortium to connect 400 facilities

The New England Telehealth Consortium has awarded a four-year contract worth more than $16 million to FairPoint Communications to provide carrier ethernet services to more than 400 healthcare sites in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. More

Dec03

Doctors against MU pre-pay audits November 30, 2012 | Diana Manos, Senior Editor

A report issued Nov. 29 by the Office of the Inspector General calling for more oversight of the meaningful use program has been mostly well-received by stakeholders. Doctors, however, are concerned about the burden of pre-payment audits. More

Nov30

OIG wants better oversight of MU November 29, 2012 | Diana Manos, Senior Editor

Says MU program is vulnerable to paying incentives to some who don't qualify

A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) might not entirely spill the meaningful use apple cart, but it certainly isn't going to make things any easier. More

Nov29

NeHC urges patient engagement November 28, 2012 | Mike Miliard, Managing Editor

Empowerment of consumers is 'blockbuster drug of the century,' says Mostashari

One week after unveiling its Patient Engagement Framework, the National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) has launched an online tool meant to help health organizations track their progress on involving patients in their care. More

Nov28

Arkansas breach unclear, lawsuit at core November 27, 2012 | Erin McCann, Associate Editor

Physician says access was authorized, cites gender discrimination

Some 1,500 patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) are being notified of a medical data breach involving a resident physician whose employment was terminated in 2010. The incident's validity, however, remains contentious and unclear, as it involves an earlier lawsuit against UAMS, filed by the physician who has cited allegations of gender discrimination. More

Nov27

6 keys to keeping data safe November 26, 2012 | Benjamin Harris, New Media Producer, Healthcare IT News

Threats abound, but common-sense strategies can help

From hurricanes to hackers, there's plenty that could go wrong when it comes to data security. With so much riding on unfettered and highly secure access to healthcare information of every kind -- from prescription information to scheduling to payroll -- keeping that data ironclad is more important than ever. More

Nov26

Today’s Headlines

Vendor Notebook: Citrix targets BYOD Citrix announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Zenprise, which specializes in mobile device management. Citrix intends to integrate the Zenprise solution for mobile device... More	Athenahealth to buy complex from Harvard Athenahealth will pay $168.5 million to Harvard University to acquire an 11-building campus known as the "Arsenal on the Charles." More
DoD, VA to expedite iEHR rollout In a Thursday press conference, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, announced they intend to expedite the electronic health record rollout for the... More	ONC adds MU incentive data to website The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has updated its website to include current information on bonuses paid out under the meaningful use incentive program. More
New bill would create FDA mHealth office Rep. Michael Honda (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill that would establish an Office of Wireless Health at the Food and Drug Administration, which would help coordinate an approach on emerging mHealth... More	CHI developing analytics platform Catholic Health Initiatives is joining forces with Houston-based Encore Health Resources to develop a set of tools to transform data generated by its electronic health records to measure quality and... More