[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/keep-calm-and-encrypt-your-data-5.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]Breaking News–updated at end Earlier this year [TTA 23 Apr] this Editor commented on the fourth annual update from the Ponemon Institute plus a qualitative study from IS Solutions that contained mostly unwelcome news for healthcare IT departments in the US. Ponemon’s new estimate of data breaches’ cost per year: $5.6 billion. While making some progress in the existential threat that data breaches present to institutional and personal security, both reports also outlined the disconnect between HIT professionals busy dealing with and sealing off the mice of internal causes versus the looming, huge menace of the external... Continue Reading
Search Results for data security
Politico: massive hacking of health records imminent
...the other Grizzled Pioneers. We’ve only been whinging on about data breaches and security since 2010 and their researchers could benefit from our back file. And speaking of 2010, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is doing its part to close the budget deficit by collecting data breach fines–$10 million in the past year. A goodly chunk will be coming from New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center: $4.8 million for a 6,800 person breach (iHealthBeat) where sensitive records showed up online, readily available to search engines. And yes, we covered this back on 29 Sept 2010 when breaches... Continue Reading
Philips, Salesforce dive into health data integration
Philips Healthcare and Salesforce announced last week their partnership to construct a connected, multi-point and collaborative data platform to benefit providers, payers and patients. The initial step is the launch later this summer of the Philips eCare Coordinator app for healthcare providers and a patient-centered Philips eCare Companion app, which will uptake data from Philips Healthcare medical devices into a variation on the Salesforce1 cloud platform. What’s emphasized in the releases and information from media sources is that it will be designed as an open platform for other device and software providers. (Data security problems down the line are anyone’s... Continue Reading
Apple Health, minus the ‘book’, announced
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/healthkit-apple-wwdc-2014-87_verge_medium_landscape.jpg” thumb_width=”170″ /]Breaking and developing… Apple announced their long-rumored health tracking app [TTA 22 Mar] this morning at their WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) in San Francisco. The consumer app is called Health (not Healthbook) and the developer platform HealthKit which are both part of iOS8 for iPhones and iPads in the fall. HealthKit facilitates pulling in of health data from third-party developers so that all health-related information for the consumer user is in one ‘hub’, similar to what Apple’s Passbook app does now as a ‘virtual pocket’ for airline boarding passes, movie tickets and coupons. Apple’s Craig Federighi,... Continue Reading
Risky hospital business: happy device hacking, insider data breaches
...medical centers have with detecting data security breaches, particularly when they are small, sneaky, over time and by an insider. UMass uncovered a series of low-profile breaches by a former employee who helped himself to patient information such as name, address, date of birth and Social Security number–and may have used it to open up credit card and mobile phone accounts. Only four records appear to have been misused in this way, but at least 2,400 records were estimated to be improperly accessed–over 12 years, which made it even more difficult to find. Perhaps the employee was funding retirement? HealthcareInfoSecurity... Continue Reading
Welsh Government to develop new eHealth and Care Strategy
...example by providing mobile services in rural areas. “With an increasing ageing population it is essential we enable people to live independently for as long as possible. Without this, the health and well-being of individuals will be adversely affected. “We will expect our information to be accessible to professionals where and when it is needed whether in health or in social care. We already have the Individual Health Record, with appropriate security and governance in place. Any potential wider access to people’s data would only be with their consent.” The full statement is available on the Welsh Government website here.... Continue Reading
Data breaches may cost healthcare organizations $5.6 bn annually: Ponemon (US)
...percent considering it to be in their top three security priorities compared to 21 percent on average–yet the health sector spends less on security overall (12 percent versus other industries at 15 percent). Internal security is a greater problem than external security for 16 percent of HIT professionals, in comparison to just 7 percent of all other IT professionals. Password sharing may be the culprit–30 percent is the professionals’ estimate. Previously in TTA: Why healthcare doesn’t encrypt: correct, incorrect assumptions, How insecure can health data get? Very., US health data breaches hit record; Healthcare.gov backdoored? Additional articles, search ‘data breaches’... Continue Reading
Playing games, using apps, promoting wellbeing – RSM event summary (UK)
...was bias/commercial interest; his fifth was inaccuracy/errors; his sixth deadly sin was a lack of testing & evidence to support the outcome promised and the seventh was lack of security & confidentiality – examples were given of all seven, perhaps the most worrying being a review of opioid converters he co-wrote where he showed a range of conversion factors produced by the different apps tested of 13. Following this came Elizabeth Edwards, Academic Clinical fellow, Barts & the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Centre for Primary Care & Public Health, Blizard Institute who talked about the smoking cessation game... Continue Reading
Why healthcare doesn’t encrypt: correct, incorrect assumptions
As our readers know, we’ve preached the Gospel of Data Security for quite awhile, to the point where even The Gimlet’s Eyes have crossed. Based on this smart analysis in Healthcare IT News (done by an outsider to healthcare), there are real reasons why HIT leaders are reluctant to implement encryption and security that would be SOP for other types of organizations. Mr. Schuman sorts the ‘drag the feet’ factors: Outdated but still widely believed: Encryption makes information less accessible across a broad network, increasing retrieve and review time. There is increased, not decreased, pressure to increase access, including by... Continue Reading
BlackBerry’s investment: what’s in it for NantHealth
...process information from electronic health records, health information exchanges, billing claims and other data repositories, including genomic profiles.” Interestingly, cOS was unveiled without an imminent launch–ETA’s ‘a few months’. Meaning: it’ll be ready to go when the smartphone’s ready, but they couldn’t say that in February. The through-the-roof nightmare of HIT security may demand a packaged solution of upgraded device + data network. HIT leaders believe–with all due reason–that security is out of control. There’s BYOD, cloud servers, proliferating data and medical records (EMR/EHRs) and mobile apps, transmitted via insecure PCs, mobile devices, consumer email platforms (Gmail), text and video... Continue Reading
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