Thursday, September 27, 2012

Establishing Trust and Interoperability in the Post-NwHIN Governance Era

McGraw, Devon. "Establishing Trust and Interoperability in the Post-NwHIN Governance Era." iHealthBeat, September 27, 2012.

From the blog: "At the September meeting of the Health IT Policy Committee, National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari announced that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT was dropping its plans to issue regulations setting voluntary "rules of the road" for participation in the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN). This action removes one potential tool for advancing a framework of standards and policies to enable digital health information exchange among providers and patients." Read more

ONC Examines Health IT and Disaster Response

Barr, Paul. "ONC Examines Health IT and Disaster Response." Modern Healthcare.com, September 26, 2012.

From the article: "A plan to improve the sharing of electronic health records among health information exchanges during disasters was issued to HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

The 117-page report (PDF) was the result of a project of the Southeast Regional HIT-HIE Collaboration, which began in November 2010 to develop a strategic plan for sharing health information data among states in the Southeast and Gulf regions during and after a declared national disaster, according to the report. The group goes by the name SERCH.

The report proposes that a memorandum of understanding that offers a limitation on liability for wrongful release of records during a disaster be issued, outlines a strategy for governance of HIE interactions and notes that a mix of HIE models means that very little cross-state exchange of EHRs is taking place." Read more


See also

Southeast Regional HIT-HIE Collaboration Final Report. "ONC State Health Policy Consortium Project: Health Information Exchange in Disaster Preparedness and Response," prepared for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, July 2012.

 

In Cyberattacks, Hacking Humans is Highly Effective Way to Access Systems


O'Harrow, Robert.  "In Cyberattacks, Hacking Humans is Highly Effective Way to Access Systems." The Washington Post, September 26, 2012.

From the article: "But like much of the digital universe, the e-mails were not what they seemed. They were cyberweapons, part of a devastating kind of attack known as “social engineering.”

Emerging details about the e-mails show how social engineering — long favored by con artists, identity thieves and spammers — has become one of the leading threats to government and corporate networks in cyberspace.

The technique involves tricking people to subvert a network’s security. It often relies on well-known scams involving e-mail, known as “spear phishing,” or phony Web pages. But such ploys now serve as the pointed tips of far more sophisticated efforts by cyberwarriors to penetrate networks and steal military and trade secrets."  Read more

At U.N., Egypt and Yemen Urge Curbs on Free Speech


MacFarquhar, Neil. "At U.N., Egypt and Yemen Urge Curbs on Free Speech." The New York Times, September 26, 2012.

From the article: "The new presidents of Egypt and Yemen — both of whom were swept to power by uprisings demanding democratic rights — issued clear rebuttals on Wednesday to President Obama’s ardent defense of Western values at the United Nations, arguing that cultural limits on rights like freedom of speech had to be respected…. Mr. Morsi rejected Mr. Obama’s broad defense of free speech a day earlier at the United Nations, saying “Egypt respects freedom of expression, freedom of expression that is not used to incite hatred against anyone.”  Read more

Tech Companies Warn Privacy Rules Will Kill Innovation


Sasso, Brendan. "Tech Companies Warn Privacy Rules Will Kill Innovation." The Hill, September 26, 2012.

From the article:  "A host of companies and trade associations are warning the Federal Trade Commission that its proposed revision to children's online privacy rules will burden tech start-ups and stifle innovation.


The Association for Competitive Technology, which represents mobile app developers, claimed the revised rules would impose $250 million in compliance costs, decimating small app makers." Read more

Tipping Point? We’re Watching More Web Video on TVs Than on PCs



From the article:  "Consumer-tracking service NPD says TV sets are now the most popular way to watch streaming video.

NPD says 45 percent of consumers report that TV is now their primary Web video screen, up from 33 percent last year. It basically swapped places with the PC, which used to account for 48 percent of viewing but now represents 31 percent."  Read more