This week in health IT news, the largest global ransomware attack in the history of the internet, WannaCry, brings to light the severity of health IT disconnects today and the need for a national cybersecurity policy to be put in place. Earlier this month at the 8th Annual Health Datapalooza, Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services, made it clear that health IT is a priority for the Department and discussed plans to improve the technological backbone of hospitals to ease the burden for providers. In a recent report, The Future of Health Index, two things were found to be holding back health IT connectivity within the U.S. healthcare system: time and trust. Continue reading this week’s roundup for the latest in health IT news.
WannaCry Brings to Light need for National Cybersecurity Policy
As WannaCry continues to impact computers around the world, many are trying to understand how the largest global ransomware attack in the history of the internet could have been prevented. While the United States has been left untouched by WannaCry, the attack brings to light the disconnect that’s existed for some time between government agencies and technology companies. “We could use a national cybersecurity policy,” said Gartner cybersecurity analyst Avivah Litan. “The federal government has really dropped the ball on cooperation between the tech companies and the government agencies.” To read the full story, go here.
Secretary Tom Price says Health IT is Key Priority for Department of Health and Human Services
At this month’s Health Datapalooza, Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services made it clear that health technology is a priority for the agency and spoke about the recent interoperability pledge which several IT companies have signed, committing them to using common standards so consumers can easily track their records. “We simply have to do a better job of reducing the burden of health IT on physicians and healthcare providers,” Price said, instead of searching for a “one-size fits all, inflexible system.” Read the full article here.
Perception vs Reality: The Disconnects in Health IT
In a recent report, The Future of Health Index, commissioned by Philips which captures healthcare connectivity across the globe, the U.S. is notably further ahead than other countries with regards to perception and reality of health IT infrastructure. The report did say there are two things holding back health IT connectivity within the U.S. healthcare system: time and trust. While physicians and practitioners are concerned with how technology will add to their workload, government regulators are still navigating the issue of data ownership. Read the full story here.
How Better Data Access Saved Taxpayers Billions
Can you put a price tag on the value of data? We think so. Last year, a team of data analyst, statisticians, and law enforcement agents came together after uncovering abnormal patterns in Medicare data, and what they found was astounding. After sifting through petabytes of data, the team uncovered over $1 billion of fraudulent activity leading to criminal and civil charges for over 300 individuals. Cheryl Bryzmialkiewicz, Chief Data Officer and Assistant Inspector General at HHS, says the secret stems from the department’s focus on data. Read the full article here.
NetApp and Varonis have partnered on a webinar “The Ransomware Threat: How to Detect, Mitigate, and Remediate.” You can register for the on demand webinar here or tap into other resources on ransomware here.
