Health IT

As electronic health records (EHRs) continue to play a huge role for healthcare operators, chief information officers have new concerns and priorities to ensure success. With rising cyberattacks on protected medical information about patients, CIOs are putting more importance on cybersecurity.

Cedars-Sinai, a non-profit hospital based in California, is launching a pilot program to outfit 100 patient rooms with a platform powered by Amazon’s voice technology, Alexa. 

CMS, in conjunction with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), recently proposed new rules to regulate interoperability standards. The rules would impact healthcare providers and plans, and ultimately give patients better access to all their health information—for free.

A report from The Wall Street Journal has led some popular health and wellness apps to cease data sharing with social network company Facebook after the practice was revealed.

CMS has created a podcast called “CMS: Beyond the Policy” to inform industry stakeholders about changes and updates to its policies and programs, the agency announced. 

HHS is pushing new interoperability rules to encourage better care coordination and empower patients to become stronger partners in their care through access to their digital health records––and the industry seems to be on board.

CVS Health is testing out a new store format in three Houston locations that aim to be a health hub for residents in those communities, with more of the store designated for healthcare services. The concept combines digital health offerings and community spaces with in-store services.

Healthcare organizations were targeted in 96 email fraud attacks on average in Q4 2018—an increase of 473 percent, compared to the Q1 of 2017, according to a new report issued by cybersecurity company Proofpoint.

Younger generations have different preferences when it comes to healthcare, with many rejecting some of the traditional aspects of care, according to a recent consumer survey from Accenture. These changing attitudes will help shape the future of healthcare as younger people age and have higher care needs.

Apple is working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make its Health Records on iPhone feature available to veterans, the company announced. Patients receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration will be able to view their aggregated health information on their iPhone in the Health app.

HHS is addressing one of the biggest issues in healthcare: interoperability. The agency, through CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), has proposed new rules to support electronic health record (EHR) interoperability.

Amid a major period of consolidation in the healthcare space, health systems have grown so large that using a patient’s name or date of birth isn’t a good identifier anymore. Instead, hospitals are turning to biometric systems, which use fingerprints or other physical characteristics to identify people, The Wall Street Journal reported.