News

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT wants to use EHR certification criteria to make it easier for physicians to report patient safety events. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will encourage providers to report adverse events to patient safety organizations, and ONC will propose certification requirements that, where appropriate, EHRs can report safety events in AHRQ's Common Formats.

IDC Health Insights group vice president is expecting that, by early March, the healthcare realm will see more HIPAA-compliant cloud services and an influx of organizations willing to sign HIPAA Business Associate Agreements.

Under terms of the $!7 million contract, SAIC will provide operational support for the USCG's Integrated Health Information System.

The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a $17 million contract to Science Applications International Corporation to provide services and operational support for USCG's Integrated Health Information System (IHiS), officials announced this month.

Approximately 4,000 patients at the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) have been notified this December that their personal health information has been compromised after an unencrypted device containing patient medical data was stolen from the car of an Omnicell employee.

"Concerned, but not panicking," is how Allscripts' biggest customer describes his reaction to the EHR vendor's switch at the top -- one that has CEO Glen Tullman stepping down, and former Cerner executive Paul Black, now steering the ship. Allscripts customers give both men kudos for leadership, but say the turnaround has to be decisive -- and quick.

Thinking of gift ideas for that special health IT someone this holiday season? Want to explore the creative side of gift-giving and outdo last year's gift of that Epic EMR or RTLS tracking? Look no further.

Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman has resigned, and Paul M. Black, former chief operating officer at Cerner, is taking the reins as president and CEO of the company after months of turmoil and speculation on its potential sale.

Now that states have declared their plans for health insurance exchanges, the focus can move from which model to choose -- and its political implications -- to the details of their progress as they prepare for enrollment in October 2013, just 10 months off.

Leon Rodriguez, director of the Office of Civil Rights, foreshadows what the office will be focusing on moving forward when it comes to HIPAA audits and enforcement.