VA says claims backlog continues to shrink
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has made "significant progress" in trying to work through its backlog of more than 800,000 disability claims, an agency official told congress last week.
Healthcare attorney: 'Secure the human' to keep patient data safe
For healthcare providers looking to ensure the security of electronic patient information, it's just as important to solidify employee knowledge as it is to encrypt data and implement improved IT solutions, said Lee Kim, an attorney with Pittsburgh-based firm Tucker Arensberg who also serves as chair of the mHIMSS Legal/Policy Taskforce.
Providers navigate potential uses for Google Glass in healthcare
Rafael Grossman, a surgeon at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, can think of a few ways he'd use Google Glass, as outlined in a recent blog post.
3 telehealth issues that elevate health leaders' worry-meters
By one estimate, 1.8 million patients will be treated via telehealth worldwide by 2017, a sign of the growing acceptance of remote medical services. But as with any emerging trend, there remains much to be worked out. To that end, René Y. Quashie, senior counsel in the healthcare and life sciences practice at law firm Epstein Becker Green, writes in a blog post at Lexology of telehealth issues that should keep healthcare leaders awake at night.
Med groups express concern over proposed HIPAA changes
A host of medical groups are up in arms over a proposal by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services in April that potentially would allow protected mental health information to be reported to a federal gun background-check database.
FDA calls for increased health IT cybersecurity efforts
With hackers and cyberattacks increasing as threats to medical devices, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week published new guidance calling for developers and healthcare facilities to beef up security efforts while creating and using those devices.
Lucile Packard suffers second data breach in six months
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital has suffered its third data breach in four years, and its second in six months, this one effecting potentially 12,900 patients.
Navy Medicine CIO: We are communicating with VA on EHR efforts
The CIO for Navy Medicine insisted this week that the Department of Defense is maintaining open communication lines with the Department of Veterans Affairs on electronic health record efforts.
Beacon programs share patient engagement IT lessons learned
Four women gave honest insight into the lessons they've learned in their individual Beacon Community programs--in central Pennsylvania, southeast Minnesota and Western New York--at the Government Health IT Conference & Exhibition this week in Washington, D.C.
Technology can mitigate challenges of genomic data in EHRs
Much work remains to be done before genetic content can effectively be incorporated into electronic health records, research from the University of Wisconsin concludes.
Why hospitals leaders should harness the power of crowdsourcing
ICD-10 conversion efforts slow for physician practices
Poor communication and coordination is causing physician practice ICD-10 readiness to lag, according to new research released today by the Medical Group Management Association.
State-level data governance efforts 'shaky at best'
State level governance efforts for storing and exchanging citizen data--including health information--are "shaky at best," according to Chad Grant, a senior policy analyst with the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.
Healthcare must catch up with capabilities of mobile apps
There is endless technology for ordering a burrito, turning off the air conditioning or turning on a security system from a cellphone. So why can't healthcare be this simple across the board?
Massive cancer database to focus on personalized medicine
England is launching an extensive cancer database tracking all 350,000 new tumors detected each year as well as 11 million historical records going back as far as 30 years, in an attempt to advance personalized medicine.
U. of Texas develops high-tech medical tattoos
Telemedicine pilot aims to reduce ER wait times
Prime Healthcare to pay $275,000 to settle privacy allegations
CPOE alerts help Stanford curb blood use
Electronic health record alerts have helped providers at Stanford Hospital & Clinic to significantly cut back on the use of blood products over the last four years.
New tool measures ROI for remote monitoring efforts
A new web-based tool unveiled this week allows providers to determine their return on investment for remote patient monitoring technologies.
