The Unlocked Back Door to Healthcare Data
CORL Technologies, a leading provider of Vendor Security Risk Management (VSRM) solutions, announced the results of the first Vendor Intelligence Report that rates the security level of third-party vendors in the healthcare industry. The report reveals that the majority of healthcare vendors lack minimum security. This is illuminated by the fact that more than 58% score in the “D” grade range for their culture of security. The report also highlights that healthcare organizations are failing to hold vendors accountable for meeting minimum acceptable standards or otherwise mitigate vendor-related security weaknesses.
Study Suggests Ways To Measure Quality of Children’s Health Care More Accurately
AHRQ (@AHRQNews) reports – Adding electronic health record (EHR) data to administrative claims data might yield a more complete measurement of the quality of children’s care, because quality measures might not be accurate when assessed using administrative claims alone, according to a recent AHRQ-funded study. The abstract and article, “Variation in Outcomes of Quality Measurement by Data Source,” published online May 26 in Pediatrics, examined quality measures that included childhood and adolescent immunization status, well-child visits, body mass index and annual chlamydia screening for females aged 16 and older. The “hybrid” method recommended to assess quality measures, which includes medical record review, is more comprehensive but has time and financial constraints. To overcome those constraints, the researchers demonstrated an alternative data-collection method for systems that are able to electronically abstract clinically relevant EHR data.
MGMA ACA Exchange Implementation Survey Report
Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) conducted member research in April 2014 to better understand the impact of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) insurance exchange implementation on medical group practices. This research follows up our September 2013 study, which helped shed light on a number of ACA exchange implementation issues. The survey includes responses from more than 700 medical groups in which more than 40,000 physicians practice nationwide.
Trends in Electronic Health Record System Use Among Office-based Physicians: United States, 2007–2012
Nearly three-quarters of office-based physicians in the U.S. used electronic health record systems in 2013, according to a report recently released by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The report presents trends in the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) by office-based physicians during 2007–2012. Rates of adoption are compared by selected physician and practice characteristics.
See previously posted reports and surveys on the next pages.