The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)–the agency that promotes the use of electronic health data–and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR)–the agency that enforces health data privacy–have been working together to try to remove barriers to health data exchange. Today at the 2016 […]
Nearly all reported non-Federal, acute care hospitals–96 percent–possessed a certified electronic health record (EHR) technology in 2015, according to data released from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Eighty-four percent of hospitals had adopted at least a Basic EHR system by 2015, showing a ninefold increase since 2008, when only […]
Consumer expectations and needs demand that health data be shared and made easily accessible, according to Karen DeSalvo, the national coordinator for Health Information Technology at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Karen DeSalvo “Consumers are expecting that we share their data and HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] allows it,” DeSalvo said at the […]
Data breaches are costing the health care industry an estimated $6.2 billion, with 89% of organizations represented in a new study by the Ponemon Institute having experienced a data breach in the past two years and 45% reporting more than five breaches in the same time period. The Sixth Annual Benchmark Study on Privacy & […]
State-Federal collaboration is going to be essential in combating state and local cyber threats, according to witnesses at a cybersecurity congressional hearing on Tuesday. “States have constantly ranked their cyber capabilities among the lowest capabilities,” said Rep. Dan Donovan, R-N.Y. “What is preventing us from reaching an appropriate level of cybersecurity?” “This has to be […]
For the first time, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Medicare standardized payment amount, which makes Medicare payments across all geographic areas comparable. The information was part of the third annual release May 5 of the Physician and Other Supplier Utilization and Payment public use data. The data set contains […]
The increasing sophistication of cyberattacks and the emerging threat of ransomware are placing a new premium not only on high-level technical skills but on bold, effective leadership. “Each day, the cyber threat landscape changes, and our attackers are unrelenting,” said Rob Potter, vice president of the Americas for Symantec. Cyber leadership must face these evolving threats […]
Big data has the potential to both increase and decrease discrimination based on the ethics of its use, according to speakers at the Ford Foundation Fairness by Design event. “Not using the data has highly discriminatory practices,” said U.S. chief data scientist DJ Patil in his keynote address at the event. Julie Brill, a partner […]
The sun could pose the largest digital security risk to U.S. critical infrastructure, according to witnesses at a House Oversight and Management Efficiency Subcommittee on Tuesday. “All critical infrastructure sectors are at risk from EMP [electromagnetic pulse],” said Brandon Wales, director of the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis National Protection and Programs Directorate at […]
Disrupt or be disrupted. That’s the way Dave Dimond, chief technology officer for Global Healthcare Business at EMC Corp., sees the IT business—especially for those in the rapidly changing health care sector. Dimond said the challenge health care providers face has everything to do with meeting patient expectations in a world “where they want things, […]
