Legal, Financial, and Criminal Consequences for HIPAA Violations

Protecting patients’ private health information has become a major concern for most of the world. That’s because this information and data, otherwise known as “protected health information” (PHI) and electronic protected health information” (e-PHI), has increasingly become a primary target of a variety of hackers and scammers. And while this data and information is protected […]

HIPAA Security Rule Part 2: General Data Security Rules for Electronic Protected Health Information

In part 1 of the HIPAA Security Rule blog series, we introduced you to healthcare data security basics, or in other words, what the HIPAA Security Rule is, what the primary objectives are, and what kind of information is protected by the HIPAA Security Rule. Below, and as part 2 of this series, we are […]

HIPAA Security Rule Part 1: An Intro to Data Security for Electronic Protected Health Information

Information and data security are hugely important topics, and no group knows that more than those who work in the healthcare field. Whether it’s who physicians and healthcare providers can talk to about a specific patient’s care, how to protect your healthcare facility from healthcare data hackers, or how to secure individuals’ “electronic protected health […]

The Future of Big Data in Healthcare

Big data in healthcare offers great potential for improving care, but healthcare agencies face challenges of improving infrastructure, analytics capabilities, and data security, according to “The Big Data Cure” report by MeriTalk.[1] MeriTalk surveyed 150 IT-related executives in Federal Agencies that focus on healthcare and healthcare research. The majority of respondents suggested that less than […]

Technology Adoption and Utilization in Healthcare

Technology adoption and utilization remains one of the primary challenges facing practicing physicians according to The Physicians Foundation, a non-profit seeking to advance the work of practicing physicians and help facilitate the delivery of healthcare to patients. In their 2014 watch list The Physicians Foundation has listed five critical challenges facing practicing physicians. Practice and Insurance […]

5 Usability Questions for EHR Installations

Evaluating EHR vendors can be a challenge. While physicians are experts at patient care, software evaluation can sometimes be confusing. In a recent edition of Medical Practice Insider, Linda Stotsky offers 5 core usability questions when shopping for an EHR vendor. An EHR consultant, Stotksy helps professionals sort through the varied challenges.[1] “Docs are great at […]

Challenges of EHR Adoption

Satisfaction with EHR implementations has dropped over the past two years, and new implementations are slowing according to recent study by American EHR.[1] One big problem highlighted by this study is reduced productivity due to the lacking usability. Think about ease of use for a moment. Every day over one billion people visit Facebook through […]

Service and Speed in the Healthcare IT Cloud

“Imagine the day when H1N1 detection is automated because it’s passively discovered in the cloud,” says John D. Halamka, MD and CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). A respected leader in the healthcare technology, Halamka sees great potential for the cloud to play a vital role in improving healthcare delivery through shared resources […]

Towards a Healthcare BI Plan

Healthcare business intelligence can potentially improve patient care and reduce costs when used effectively within a given facility. At the same time, using BI within a healthcare environment comes with a range of challenges due to the critical nature of the environment, the massive amount of complex data that needs accurate interpretation, and the caution […]

Desktop Virtualization and EMR

Virtualization offers one way you can help reduce the stress of EMR implementation by speeding adoption while simplifying the demand on clinicians. When you implement desktop virtualization, staff and clinicians can use a thin client for accessing a “virtual” PC that runs on a server in a data center. Easy Access Desktop virtualization simplifies access […]