by medicaltechont | Apr 6, 2014 | Canada, Cloud, eHealth, Privacy, United States
When it comes to electronic health records, “the switch to cloud is inevitable.” That’s according to Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT in the Obama administration, who spoke at a “Health Care, the Cloud, and Privacy” panel hosted by the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, Patient Privacy Rights.
Electronic health records are exactly what they sound like: A collection of health information in digital format that can include a wide range of data, from intimate details of your medical history and test results to demographic data to your billing information. Digital records are superior to physical ones because they can be transferred quickly when patients switch providers, help doctors get a complete picture of patient health, eliminate the need for redundant testing, and provide new opportunities for analyzing treatments for efficiency and effectiveness.
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by medicaltechont | Apr 5, 2014 | Uncategorized
Health Minister Ambrose Tours First Nations Health Centre
Canada NewsWire
SIKSIKA FIRST NATION, AB, April 4, 2014
Latest Technology Improving Health Delivery to Siksika Nation
SIKSIKA FIRST NATION, AB, April 4, 2014 /CNW/ – Today, Minister Ambrose toured the Siksika Health Centre to see first-hand the innovations and the latest technologies being used to improve the health and well-being of First Nations.
The Centre, which opened in 2007, is one of the most technologically advanced First Nations health centres. It was built and operates as a partnership between the Siksika Nation, the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta.
During the tour, Minister saw first-hand the impact of recent investments in electronic health records and heard about the broad range of clinical and preventative health services offered.
Following the tour, Minister Ambrose was also briefed on the efforts by the Siksika community to rebuild the buildings and repair the damage done by last spring’s historic flood.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1833648#ixzz2y1foNgf6
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1833648#ixzz2y1fbnTTQ
by medicaltechont | Apr 5, 2014 | Legal, Privacy
Get patient consent before storing records in data clouds MDU advises
Some GPs and independent practitioners have asked the MDU about their legal and ethical responsibilities when using virtual servers accessible over the internet, known as ‘data clouds’, to store patient information. The MDU, which indemnifies over half of all UK doctors, advises that clinicians consider very carefully the risks involved in storing confidential medical information in third party off-site cloud facilities. Dr Claire Macaulay, MDU medico-legal adviser, explained: “Traditionally information such as patient records has been stored locally within the practice. But cloud computing can offer a convenient alternative, not least because the information can be accessed from any computer. However, the potential security and confidentiality risks of doing so may, for the present time, outweigh the benefits.” – See more at: http://www.themdu.com/press-centre/press-releases/get-patient-consent-before-storing-records-in-data-clouds-mdu-advises#sthash.565UnHGT.dpuf
See more at: http://www.themdu.com/press-centre/press-releases/get-patient-consent-before-storing-records-in-data-clouds-mdu-advises#sthash.565UnHGT.dpuf
by medicaltechont | Apr 5, 2014 | Privacy, private clinics, Technology, Toronto
Ontario Health Coalition says many clinics are billing patients for medically unnecessary services
Many private clinics in Ontario are misleading patients and billing them for medically unnecessary services, public health advocates charged Tuesday.
A “significant” number of clinics contacted by the Ontario Health Coalition were charging patients extra fees on top of billing the Ontario Health Insurance Plan for necessary procedures, such as colonoscopies, the group said.
One clinic was charging patients $50 “administrative fees” for such things as a snack and patient records, according to OHC, which worked with six university students to conduct the research.
Such fees were more common among cataract clinics, which were charging patients hundreds and even thousands of dollars for medically unnecessary tests and procedures when they came in for needed surgery, said OHC’s executive director Natalie Mehra.
Clinics are manipulating patients, who are confused about what they need and what they don’t need, she said. Some patients they spoke to were concerned that if they refused to pay extra fees, that they would get substandard care.
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by medicaltechont | Mar 20, 2014 | Canada, Cloud, Hardware, Technology, The Internet
If you think you don’t have data security issues, you’re probably wrong. In a survey by the Ponemon Institute, 94 percent of health care organizations reported a data breach in the past two years. The firm pegged the cost of such breaches in the U.S. at close to $200 per record.
That would amount to no small drain on the system. Breaches involving more than 29 million patient health records have been reported to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services since 2009, according to a February 2014 study by IT security firm Redspin.
And there’s no sign that the risk will subside anytime soon. Quite the opposite, in fact. Experian wrote in a recent report: “Healthcare, by far, will be the most susceptible to publicly disclosed and widely scrutinized data breaches in 2014.” That’s in part because as the industry grows, so does its “attack surface.” Understandably, health care professionals prefer to focus on looking after their patients. But organizations that encourage every team member to think a bit more like an IT security analyst stand the best chance of avoiding data breaches and other IT problems.
See more at: http://medcitynews.com/2014/03/6-health-risks-cant-afford-ignore/
