This week in health IT news, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) looked into the current state of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)’s progress in health IT and came up with some interesting findings. In cybersecurity news, a report from HIMSS Analytics showed that the majority of data breaches in health IT come from email. And finally, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) was honored as a IT pioneer for his work on the Increasing Telehealth Access in Medicare Act. Read our roundup of news to find out what else happened this week in health IT.
Department of Veterans Affairs
This week in health IT news, a study from the Government Accountability Office dug into what’s going on at the Department of Veterans Affairs as they continue looking at ways to improve their health IT infrastructure. Three topics were highlighted from the report: the VA’s numerous attempts to update its EHR system over the past twenty years, their FITARA-related efforts, and their progress on using a comprehensive inventory of software licenses. Read the full story here.
Report Shows Majority of Data Breaches in Health IT Stem from Email
In a recent report from HIMSS Analytics, 76 IT professionals were asked to rank the most likely source of a data breach. Of the respondents, 37 cited email as the most likely source of a healthcare data breach. The majority of respondents also cited the use of email to send protected health information. In addition, most respondents said they had experienced an email-related malware or ransomware attack in the past 12 months. Read the full story here.
Progress Health Cloud and IT Integration
As more healthcare organizations move towards digitization, it has in some cases created additional silos and disparate systems. In response to this, Progress Software Corp announced their release of Progress Health Cloud, an enterprise cloud application that fully integrates front-end, back-end and data connectivity technologies into a serverless and HIPAA-compliant platform that drives patient engagement and better healthcare outcomes. Read the full story here.
Telehealth Pioneer Honored
This week, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) the Health IT Pioneer Award from the Health IT Now coalition for his work on the Increasing Telehealth Access in Medicare Act. The award is presented annually to a select handful of federal legislators and regulators for their work in pushing technologies policies and strategies to address pressing healthcare challenges. Read the full story here.
