Healthcare organizations feel under increasing attack from the Internet, while security incidents involving insiders and disappearing laptops with sensitive data are piling up. On top of that, there’s now the prospect of a surprise audit from the federal government agency in charge of overseeing the HIPAA security and privacy rules. Healthcare organizations are stepping up…
New York City to Help Doctors Track Patients’ Records Electronically
After two years of planning and a public investment of more than $60 million, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Monday that New York City was ready to equip doctors with computer software that can track patients’ medical records in order to provide better preventive care. … Among its important advances, city officials said, the…
AT&T teams with Tenn. on medical info exchange
AT&T is partnering with Tennessee to provide the country’s first statewide system to electronically exchange patient medical information, the telecommunications company said Monday. The system is designed to securely transmit detailed patient information between medical professionals. It will allow doctors to access medical histories, prescribe medicines over the Internet and transfer images like X-rays, MRIs…
Privacy group aims for model state law in 2009
A multi-state collaborative seeking ways to align its health information privacy rules to make it easier to share data across health information exchanges is aiming for a demonstration law that states could use as a model in 2009. The target for the Harmonizing State Privacy Law Collaborative (HSPLC) this year is to develop a set…
Google plan for medical info raises privacy issues
Thousands of patients at the Cleveland Clinic will be able to turn to Google to access their medical records online everything from their prescriptions to diagnoses in a pilot program announced Thursday that worries some privacy advocates. …But critics worry that the risk of sensitive medical information falling into the wrong hands such as those…
Google to Store Patients' Health Records
Google Inc. will begin storing the medical records of a few thousand people as it tests a long-awaited health service that’s likely to raise more concerns about the volume of sensitive information entrusted to the Internet search leader. The pilot project to be announced Thursday will involve 1,500 to 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic…