Since January 2016, hospitals in three states and the District of Columbia have been maliciously attacked and patient health data has been put at risk. These cyberattacks are a result of “Ransomware”, a malware system designed to “kidnap” data, prevent victims from accessing their information, and extort them for the decryption key.
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By Matt Fisher – It seems as though multiple times per year the Department of Justice, HHS, or some other enforcement agency announces the largest sweep or takedown of health care related fraud. A joint Department of Justice and HHS announcement on June 22, 2016 is the latest example.
By Sharon B. Arnold PhD – Patient-centered outcomes research can be an important tool in making informed health care decisions. PCOR compares the impact of two or more preventive, diagnostic, treatment, or health care delivery approaches on health outcomes, focusing on those that are meaningful to patients.
By Barbara Feder Ostrov – When we hear the phrase “digital health,” we might think about our Fitbit, the healthy eating app on our smartphone, or maybe a new way to email our doctor. But Fitbits aren’t particularly useful if you’re homeless, and the nutrition app won’t mean much to someone who struggles to pay for groceries.
By Susan Clark – Earlier this year the headlines read that Meaningful Use was dead. The collective sigh of relief was short-lived as it became apparent, as some of us already knew, that Meaningful Use wasn’t going away. It was simply changing its form to something called Advancing Care Information within the MIPS rule.
By John Halamka MD – Some have suggested that my comments over the past few months about the Meaningful Use program, MACRA/MIPS, and Certification imply that we should just give up – throw out the baby with the bath water. That’s not what I’ve written. Here’s a clarification.
By Christy Seely – Thanks to the rise of high-deductible health plans, patients’ share of financial responsibility continues to grow—and almost 50% of it typically ends up written off as bad debt. But there are steps you can take to make sure that statistic doesn’t end up as your statistic.
By Matt Patterson MD – In a variety of recent private and panel discussions with health and policy leaders, I’ve heard encouraging talk around interoperability through open and available application programming interfaces (APIs).
By Chad Terhune – In another sign of growing frustration with rising health costs, aerospace giant Boeing Co. has agreed to contract directly for employee benefits with a major health system in Southern California, bypassing the conventional insurance model.