by medicaltechont | Oct 8, 2016 | eHealth, Privacy
The cash-strapped provincial government wants to cash in on the patient data collected by eHealth Ontario without compromising privacy or privatizing record-keeping.
The cash-strapped provincial government wants to cash in on the patient data collected by eHealth Ontario without compromising privacy or privatizing record-keeping.
With the controversial electronic health agency’s 10-year mandate expiring at the end of 2017, Queen’s Park is looking at what’s next for eHealth.
Health Minister Eric Hoskins on Friday asked Premier Kathleen Wynne’s privatization guru, Ed Clark, for help “in valuing public and private assets with respect to Ontario’s digital health strategy.”
“I would ask you to provide the government with a value assessment of Ontario’s digital health assets and all related intellectual property and infrastructure,” Hoskins wrote in an open letter to Clark.
Read more at https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/10/07/liberals-want-to-know-cash-value-of-ehealth.html
by medicaltechont | Apr 27, 2016 | eHealth, EHR, hackers, Privacy, Security, Software
The growing concern with ransomware attacks at hospitals is provisionally a healthcare IT problem, but as the number of such attacks grows, it will quickly become a financial one as well.
Just a single ransom sum has been disclosed: Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles paid the equivalent of about $17,000 in bitcoin to free up its computer systems last month.
That may not have been a wise move: Steve King, chief operating officer with Netswitch Technology Management, a Northern California consulting firm that focuses on healthcare IT and security issues, told me last month that paying ransoms would set a precedent that would embolden hackers looking for paydays.
“The more they comply with these ransom demands, the more frequently we’re going to get these kinds of attacks,” King told me. He suggested it might be preferable for some hospitals to simply replace their existing IT systems than succumb to ransoms.
Read more at http://www.fiercehealthfinance.com/story/ransomware-attacks-hospitals-need-weigh-bottom-line-or-just-take-some-basic/2016-03-28
by medicaltechont | Apr 25, 2016 | e-Health, eHealth, EHR
Over the course of 2015, countless data breaches occurred within hospital networks, health insurers, physicians’ offices, and other organizations in the healthcare industry. In fact, Community Health Systems, Premera and Anthem were just a few of the most notable names who made cybersecurity headlines last year. More than 94 million records were exposed as the result of attacks varying in sophistication, which ranged from standard, employee-targeted breaches, to more complex methods carried out by scheming hackers.
It’s widely agreed upon that hackers target industries that hold valuable, sensitive and extremely personal data. It follows, then, that the healthcare industry is one of those targeted sectors, and has been for quite some time, due to its treasure trove of private information including mailing addresses, family histories, medical conditions, social security numbers and much more.
But with attacks increasing in both size and complexity, it’s time to more closely examine the healthcare industry, in particular electronic health record (EHR) providers.
Read more at http://hitconsultant.net/2016/04/11/preparing-ehr-vendors-cyber-threats/
by medicaltechont | Jan 4, 2016 | eHealth, EHR, Technology
Everyone, it seems, except for the EMR industry and the government, is complaining about EMRs. Doctors feel like high priced, unappreciated data entry clerks, patients think that their doctors should give them more face time instead of screen time and CMIO’s are pulling their hair out trying to get everyone on board. Almost everyone agrees, though, that we have passed the point of no return and that the digitization of Sick Care information has great promise if done right.
Click here to read more.
http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money-digest/contributor/arlen-meyers-md-mba/2016/01/10-things-telemedicine-should-learn-from-the-emr-fiasco
by medicaltechont | Dec 13, 2015 | Cloud, eHealth, EHR, Technology, United States
In 1986, a person with lung cancer would be linked to approximately two types of disease. After the genome sequencing was completed in 2003, the medical community was able to find seven other molecular diseases associated to lung cancer and there are more to be discovered.
The access to new molecular data meant people had an increased chance of surviving lung cancer, whereas before the disease was considered a death sentence.
The original human genome project took 13 years to complete the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up human DNA at a cost of $3 billion. Today, this same process takes two days at cost roughly $15.
At the SAP Spotlight Tour earlier this week, healthcare professionals from CancerLinq, the Stanford University department of medicine and SAP’s own chief medical officer made a plea for more patient data to be made available in an effort to gain new insights for healthcare. The ultimate goal of this effort is to provide personalized medicine and treatment.
Read more: http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/why-big-data-means-big-changes-for-personalized-healthcare/379274#ixzz3u8EWcEkv
or visit http://www.itworldcanada.com for more Canadian IT News
Read more: http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/why-big-data-means-big-changes-for-personalized-healthcare/379274#ixzz3u8EJUI00
or visit http://www.itworldcanada.com for more Canadian IT News
by medicaltechont | Oct 3, 2015 | eHealth
This is a great article on the real cost of EMR in Ontario!
How much does is cost to care for a baby, pregnant woman, diabetic, heart disease patient, or provide primary care among the myriad of other services offered by your family doctor? According to the Ontario Government, too much. According to you and me?
I am not about to rehash the many exemplary articles and blog posts that have so eloquently outlined the issues (see attached PDF). My focus is to ask you a single question: Are you getting value for what is spent on primary care health teams?
Read more: http://policyoptions.irpp.org/2015/09/26/the-real-cost-of-primary-care-in-ontario-a-fraction-of-the-cost-of-a-gym-membership/
