This is Day 10 of our 12 Days of Christmas Posts and we are leaping in joy for these great posts we had this year on our sites. Every month we compile our Top 10 posts that deserve a second read. This list takes those lists just one step further. Here are the most read and shared posts of the year. Thank you to all these authors that have shared their thoughts with us and our readers.
Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence is Key to Fighting Ransomware in Healthcare
By Munawar Abadullah,CEO, ImpTrax Corporation
Twitter: @ImpTrax
Twitter: @MAbadullah
Every once in a while the world wakes up to the news of yet another data breach of incredible proportion, providing a crude reminder that healthcare IT systems are not as secure as they should be. Some black hat hackers sell stolen data in bulk on the dark Web while others use a technique called credential stuffing to automatically force authentication on targeted domains. But regardless of how the stolen data gets used, one thing is for certain: increasingly bigger cyber data breaches and thefts are clear indicators that passwords used on their own are an inadequate way to ensure security. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
Slow and Steady: The Journey Toward Interoperability
By Greg Stack, Product Marketing Manager, Orion Health
Twitter: @OrionHealth
In this world of instant communication and seemingly endless amounts of disruptive apps, it may seem like health information technology has languished. However, there has been a monumental shift in the HIT market, and it’s only just beginning. Less than a decade ago, nine out of ten clinicians in the U.S. used paper-based patient records. Now it’s estimated that by the end of the year, 90 percent will be using EHRs. Even though true HIT interoperability is still on the horizon, there has already been huge strides in the development, and use, of HIT in America—and thanks to a couple of key points, the future looks even brighter. Continue reading on HIEAnswers.net…
OCR Issues Second Largest HIPAA Fine to Date – $5.5 Million
By Art Gross, President and CEO, HIPAA Secure Now!
Twitter: @HIPAASecureNow
According to an article over on tripwire, a covered entity is facing serious penalties after the Office for Civil Rights issued them a hefty fine for their failure to comply with audit procedures including review, modification and termination of users’ access. “In the scope of the investigation, it was discovered that more than 100,000 individuals had their ePhi records impermissibly disclosed.” This announcement by the Office for Civil Rights came on February 16, 2017, announcing a settlement agreement had been reached with Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) for their potential HIPAA violations. “The settlement agreement included a robust corrective action plan and the second largest fine levied against a covered entity to date: $5.5 million.” Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
From FHIR Profiling Through to Coping with Different FHIR Versions
By Dr. David Hay, Product Strategist, Orion Health
Twitter: @OrionHealth
FHIR® or Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources is an IT healthcare standard that will help to improve the day to day running of community medical practices and hospitals. FHIR can contribute to improving care of patients by providing timely access to their electronic healthcare record. FHIR is one of the next generation HL7® standards in healthcare data integration, and is focused on decreasing interoperability costs, and unlocking technical innovation in healthcare. FHIR aims to speed application development and interoperability, plus boost information sharing in healthcare, especially on mobile platforms. Continue reading on HIEAnswers.net…
Securing Healthcare’s Move to the Cloud
By Susan Biddle, Sr. Director of Healthcare, Fortinet
Twitter: @Fortinet
A hot topic in healthcare IT discussions these days is the inevitable move of secure data to the cloud, and for good reason. Providing medical care has truly become a consumer market for hospitals and other healthcare institutions. Organizations are being expected to provide the absolute latest in patient care capabilities across the board, including hotel-like amenities to make a patient’s stay as comfortable as possible. People can choose what hospital they go to, and they are choosing based on both the quality of the care and the quality of the services provided. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
Why Using Encryption is Not Optional for Healthcare Organizations
By Gene Fry, Compliance Officer and VP of Technology, Scrypt, Inc.
Twitter: @ScryptInc
For HIPAA covered entities and their business associates, keeping health data protected should be a top priority. Failing to do so can have disastrous consequences, not only by way of the civil and criminal penalties dealt out for breaching HIPAA’s rules, but also the significant reputational damage that can be occurred as a result of a data breach; it is easier to replenish finances than it is to regain the trust of patients whose health information has been exposed. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
Our Health Data – The Most Important Medical Discovery of Our Time
By Morris Panner, CEO of Ambra Health
Twitter: @ambrahealth
Twitter: @mpanner
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the future of medicine. Facebook uses AI to suggest friends’ faces to tag in a photo; Spotify to suggest your perfect playlist. Healthcare is far behind, but catching up. Yet, none of this will be possible unless we properly manage our medical data, just as consumer apps have corralled our personal data. Our own medical studies, our pathology results, our CAT scans, and our lab values enable this medical revolution. This astonishing transformation in how we think about healthcare data poses technical and ethical challenges galore. Continue reading on HIEAnswers.net…
Breaking Down Interoperability Barriers to Unlock the Potential of Technology Innovations
By Diana Nole, CEO of the Health Division of Wolters Kluwer
Twitter: @Wolters_Kluwer
When it comes to electronic health record systems (EHRs), most would agree that they have failed to live up to their potential for delivering greater efficiencies, reduced healthcare costs, and improved care quality. The primary reason these intended benefits have not materialized is lack of interoperability; when EHRs are not seamlessly interoperable with other health IT systems, they cannot be leveraged to improve clinical outcomes and reduce costs. Continue reading on HIEAnswers.net…
Practice Managers – Seriously How Are You Keeping Up?
By Chad Tunison, Partner, eHealthcare Consulting, Inc.
Twitter: @ehealthcareorg
I think it’s time for the healthcare industry to stand up and give Practice Managers the applause they deserve. It is commonly known that providers (regardless of specialty) have it rough these days due to increasing regulations, however, what never seems to get headlines is just how difficult the people running their businesses have it. I did a quick search on one of the major job boards and found 145 Practice Manager openings in my home state of Indiana; over 100 of these postings paid under $35,000. That is 1.5 positions per county! Constant turnover is well documented, yet we don’t talk about how we can help the underlying issue that is causing it. Continue reading on RCMAnswers.net…
3 Ways to Take Control of Your Contracts
By Tim Comp, Regional Manager, Enterprise Solutions, ZirMed
Twitter: @zirmed
Leadership teams at hospitals and health systems are under constant pressure to grow their revenue, but at the same time, they’re stuck watching as margins shrink quickly. In 2014, 61.3% of hospitals reported a decrease in their profit margins over the prior year. One contributing factor is that costs are constantly expanding. According to Moody’s, hospital expenses are growing at a faster rate than their revenue. On top of that, payments are getting increasingly difficult for providers to collect. Continue reading on RCMAnswers.net…
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