Cybersecurity and Privacy

By  Jonah Comstock 03:38 pm October 22, 2018
As healthcare shifts towards consumerization, a related shift is happening in healthcare information security. The change is from a perimeter model to an identity model and from an emphasis on compliance to one on maturity, Karl West, chief information security officer at Intermountain Healthcare, said in a talk last week at the HIMSS Privacy and Security Forum. “At Intermountain, 80 percent of...
doctor filling out a form
By  Jonah Comstock 02:22 pm October 19, 2018
Health systems, startups, and other stakeholders are banding together to create a series of standardized frameworks for innovators, starting with a standardized security assessment for business associate agreements. The all-volunteer group, currently called the Digital Health Collaborative (the group plans to adopt an official name next year), was conceived at and first met at the HIMSS18 Global...
By  Dave Muoio 02:27 pm October 18, 2018
Xcertia, a standards and guidelines body for mobile apps, today announced the draft release of  its updated Privacy and Security Guidelines, a document consisting of practical and descriptive advice for health app designers. The group has opened the draft up for comment from stakeholders and industry members for the next 45 days, Chuck Parker, managing director at Xcertia, said here at the...
AI voice assistant.
By  Tom Sullivan 09:31 am October 18, 2018
BOSTON — Voice technology is growing out of its first wave of reactive information services and becoming more proactive in ways that can help clinicians and consumers more effectively manage their health. After the first takeaway that 2018 is the year of voice tech pilots, that’s another impression from Monday’s Voice.Health Summit, hosted by Boston Children's, here at the Connected Health...
Christian Dameff speaking to HIMSS TV
By  HIMSS TV 03:17 pm October 17, 2018
*/ Focus on Cybersecurity In October, we take a deep dive into security strategy and pressing threats.
Doctor texting.
By  Laura Lovett 12:03 pm October 17, 2018
Texting between doctors and patients has become more commonplace in recent years. But before the two parties start sharing every intimate detail, experts urge providers to take a step back and consider security. HIPAA guidelines HIPAA permits “readily producible”private health information to be transferred to a patient through their preferred medium, as long as the provider can do so in a way...
By  Healthcare IT News Staff 11:34 am October 15, 2018
During October, we talk to infosec executives and experts about the problems and practical steps to securing sensitive data, advice about what to do (and what not to do) during and after a security incident.
Cloud illustration with padlock.
By  Jonah Comstock 11:17 am October 15, 2018
In the last few years, cloud computing has moved from an option for healthcare providers to, increasingly, a business necessity. By outsourcing data management to a cloud services company, hospitals can free up their own technical staff to do more work closer to their core competencies. “Microsoft coming along with a public cloud infrastructure, once upon a time, seemed like an unlikely...
By  Leontina Postelnicu 08:11 am October 12, 2018
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has estimated that the WannaCry attack cost the NHS £92m in "lost output of patient care" and additional IT support provided to organisations affected during and in the aftermath of the incident. The May 2017 cyber attack disrupted operations at approximately one-third of hospital trusts and around eight percent of GP practices, with 19,000...
Doctor using a medical imaging device.
By  Dave Muoio 11:40 am October 11, 2018
Between high-profile hacks and hospitals’ growing dependency on connected medical devices, cybersecurity is as relevant to healthcare as it’s ever been. And while providers and device manufacturers are rightfully making protection a priority for newly developed or purchased medical devices, older legacy devices pose the greatest security risk to healthcare organizations. "There are any number of...