From the abstract: "Considerable investments are being made in commercial electronic prescribing systems (e-prescribing) in many countries. Few studies have measured or evaluated their effectiveness at reducing prescribing error rates, and interactions between system design and errors are not well understood, despite increasing concerns regarding new errors associated with system use. This study evaluated the effectiveness of two commercial e-prescribing systems in reducing prescribing error rates and their propensities for introducing new types of error." Read more
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Effects of Two Commercial Electronic Prescribing Systems on Prescribing Error Rates in Hospital In-Patients: A Before and After Study
From the abstract: "Considerable investments are being made in commercial electronic prescribing systems (e-prescribing) in many countries. Few studies have measured or evaluated their effectiveness at reducing prescribing error rates, and interactions between system design and errors are not well understood, despite increasing concerns regarding new errors associated with system use. This study evaluated the effectiveness of two commercial e-prescribing systems in reducing prescribing error rates and their propensities for introducing new types of error." Read more
The Militarisation of Cyber Security as a Source of Global Tension
Dunn Cavelty, Myriam, The Militarisation of Cyber Security as a Source of Global Tension, Strategic Trends Analysis, Zurich, Möckli, Daniel, Wenger, Andreas, eds., Center for Security Studies, February 1, 2012.
From the abstract: "Cyber security is seen as one of the most pressing national security issues of our time. Due to sophisticated and highly publicized cyber attacks, most prominently among them the sabotaging computer worm Stuxnet, it is increasingly framed as a strategic-military concern. The result of this perception is too much attention on the low probability of a large scale cyber attack, a focus on the wrong policy solutions, and a detrimental atmosphere of insecurity and tension in the international system. Though cyber operations will be a significant component of future conflicts, the role of the military in cyber security will be limited and needs to be carefully defined." Read more
From the abstract: "Cyber security is seen as one of the most pressing national security issues of our time. Due to sophisticated and highly publicized cyber attacks, most prominently among them the sabotaging computer worm Stuxnet, it is increasingly framed as a strategic-military concern. The result of this perception is too much attention on the low probability of a large scale cyber attack, a focus on the wrong policy solutions, and a detrimental atmosphere of insecurity and tension in the international system. Though cyber operations will be a significant component of future conflicts, the role of the military in cyber security will be limited and needs to be carefully defined." Read more
Search Engines, the New Bottleneck for Content Access
Nico, Van Eijk, Search Engines, the New Bottleneck for Content Access. Telecommunication Markets, Drivers and Impediments, pp. 141-157, B. Preissl, J. Haucap, P. Curwen, eds., Springer, 2009; Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2012-21; Institute for Information Law Research Paper No. 2012-18.
From the abstract: "The core function of a search engine is to make content and sources of information easily accessible (although the search results themselves may actually include parts of the underlying information). In an environment with unlimited amounts of information available on open platforms such as the internet, the availability or accessibility of content is no longer a major issue. The real question is how to find the information. Search engines are becoming the most important gateway used to find content: research shows that the average user considers them to be the most important intermediary in their search for content. They also believe that search engines are reliable. The high social impact of search engines is now evident. This contribution discusses the functionality of search engines and their underlying business model - which is changing to include the aggregation of content as well as access to it, hence making search engines a new player on the content market. The biased structure of and manipulation by search engines is also explored. The regulatory environment is assessed - at present, search engines largely fall outside the scope of (tele)communications regulation - and possible remedies are proposed." Read more
From the abstract: "The core function of a search engine is to make content and sources of information easily accessible (although the search results themselves may actually include parts of the underlying information). In an environment with unlimited amounts of information available on open platforms such as the internet, the availability or accessibility of content is no longer a major issue. The real question is how to find the information. Search engines are becoming the most important gateway used to find content: research shows that the average user considers them to be the most important intermediary in their search for content. They also believe that search engines are reliable. The high social impact of search engines is now evident. This contribution discusses the functionality of search engines and their underlying business model - which is changing to include the aggregation of content as well as access to it, hence making search engines a new player on the content market. The biased structure of and manipulation by search engines is also explored. The regulatory environment is assessed - at present, search engines largely fall outside the scope of (tele)communications regulation - and possible remedies are proposed." Read more
Agents of Change: How the Law ʻCopesʼ with Technological Change
Bennett Moses, Lyria. "Agents of Change: How the Law ʻCopesʼ with Technological Change." Griffith Law Review, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 764-794, 2011; UNSW Law Research Paper No. 2012-2.
From the abstract: "The difficulty of adapting legal frameworks to changing circumstances is often represented by images of ʻlawʼ losing a race. Such visions are commonly raised in scholarship concerned with particular problems that arise in applying existing legal rules to new situations, particularly situations involving new technologies. The dilemmas encountered in adapting legal frameworks to technological change rarely persist indefinitely, however. While no institution or methodology is exclusively concerned with changing the law in response to technological change, parliamentary committees, government departments, royal commissions, law reform organisations, technology assessment agencies, ethics bodies, courts, the Productivity Commission and an array of individuals and ad hoc bodies have all been sources of adjustment at various points in history. The diverse array of organisations represents a multiplicity of disciplinary perspectives and evolving methodologies. Each one focuses on part of the story of the mutual adjustment between technology, society and law. This article represents an initial attempt to survey the landscape in order to understand better how Australia has dealt with both technological ʻcrisesʼ and the more mundane process of ensuring that legal rules operate sensibly and predictably in an evolving technological environment. From this, the article will explore briefly the gaps in Australiaʼs current mechanisms for ensuring law ʻkeeps upʼ with technology." Read more
From the abstract: "The difficulty of adapting legal frameworks to changing circumstances is often represented by images of ʻlawʼ losing a race. Such visions are commonly raised in scholarship concerned with particular problems that arise in applying existing legal rules to new situations, particularly situations involving new technologies. The dilemmas encountered in adapting legal frameworks to technological change rarely persist indefinitely, however. While no institution or methodology is exclusively concerned with changing the law in response to technological change, parliamentary committees, government departments, royal commissions, law reform organisations, technology assessment agencies, ethics bodies, courts, the Productivity Commission and an array of individuals and ad hoc bodies have all been sources of adjustment at various points in history. The diverse array of organisations represents a multiplicity of disciplinary perspectives and evolving methodologies. Each one focuses on part of the story of the mutual adjustment between technology, society and law. This article represents an initial attempt to survey the landscape in order to understand better how Australia has dealt with both technological ʻcrisesʼ and the more mundane process of ensuring that legal rules operate sensibly and predictably in an evolving technological environment. From this, the article will explore briefly the gaps in Australiaʼs current mechanisms for ensuring law ʻkeeps upʼ with technology." Read more
Reconciling Privacy With Social Media
Heather Richter Lipford, Pamela J. Wisniewski, Cliff Lampe, Lorraine Kisselburgh, and Kelly Caine. 2012. "Reconciling Privacy With Social Media." In Proceedings of the ACM 2012 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work Companion (CSCW '12). ACM, New York, NY, 19-20.
From the abstract: "Social media is one way that individuals share information, present themselves, and manage their social interactions in both personal and professional contexts. While social media benefits have been examined in the literature, relatively little attention has been paid to the relationship of privacy to these benefits. Privacy has traditionally been framed as a way for individuals to protect themselves from the consequences of too much information disclosure. However, privacy can be a means to enhance social media outcomes and is essential for coordinating cooperative relationships. In this workshop we seek to: a) broaden the lens of social media privacy research to examine the benefits and outcomes of interactional privacy as they relate to social media goals; and b) discuss the design of social media interfaces that are responsive to both relational and privacy needs." Read more
Cloud Computing Report Slams Brazil, India, China
Palmer, Doug. "Cloud Computing Report Slams Brazil, India, China." Reuters, February 22, 2012.
From the article: "A U.S. software industry report on Wednesday chided Brazil, China and India for policies it said threatened the future of cloud computing, but also took aim at developed countries such as Germany that did well on its inaugural scorecard. The Business Software Alliance, which represents U.S. industry heavyweights such as Microsoft Corp, said Brazil finished last in its survey of 24 countries, earning only 35.1 points out a possible 100 because of its policies in areas such free trade, security, data privacy and cybercrime." Read more
See Also
Business Software Alliance. "BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard."
From the article: "A U.S. software industry report on Wednesday chided Brazil, China and India for policies it said threatened the future of cloud computing, but also took aim at developed countries such as Germany that did well on its inaugural scorecard. The Business Software Alliance, which represents U.S. industry heavyweights such as Microsoft Corp, said Brazil finished last in its survey of 24 countries, earning only 35.1 points out a possible 100 because of its policies in areas such free trade, security, data privacy and cybercrime." Read more
See Also
Business Software Alliance. "BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard."
SFN Report: Communication and Gatekeeper Research
Vinter, Hannah. "SFN Report: Communication and Gatekeeper Research." Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog, February 20, 2012.
From the article: "Once upon a time, news flows were relatively simple. Information would travel from a source to a news organisation, to the general public. Although that chain might not have been quite as simple as it seemed (a journalist might influence his or her sources, or public reactions might influence a news organisation) for the most part, information flowed one way, and one way only.
Now a new regional SFN report from WAN-IFRA, authored by Professor Christof Seeger and Leander Blumenthal describes the way that social media and digital publishing has turned this news flow upside-down. The report, titled "Communication and gatekeeper research" points out that media organisations are no longer the primary "gatekeepers" of information; an engaged public also plays an important role in curating news by deciding what content to republish, recommend or pass on." Read more
See Also
Blumenthal, Leander and Prof. Christof Seeger. Kommunikation und Gatekeeper-Forschung, WAN-IFRA report, February 16, 2012.
From the article: "Once upon a time, news flows were relatively simple. Information would travel from a source to a news organisation, to the general public. Although that chain might not have been quite as simple as it seemed (a journalist might influence his or her sources, or public reactions might influence a news organisation) for the most part, information flowed one way, and one way only.
Now a new regional SFN report from WAN-IFRA, authored by Professor Christof Seeger and Leander Blumenthal describes the way that social media and digital publishing has turned this news flow upside-down. The report, titled "Communication and gatekeeper research" points out that media organisations are no longer the primary "gatekeepers" of information; an engaged public also plays an important role in curating news by deciding what content to republish, recommend or pass on." Read more
See Also
Blumenthal, Leander and Prof. Christof Seeger. Kommunikation und Gatekeeper-Forschung, WAN-IFRA report, February 16, 2012.
Scope of Policy Issues in eHealth: Results From a Structured Literature Review
From the introduction: "eHealth policy can be defined as “a set of statements, directives, regulations, laws, and judicial interpretations that direct and manage the life cycle of eHealth” [1]. Recognition is growing in both developed and developing countries that eHealth is an important tool to reduce discrimination based on lack of access to information and to provide timely responses to matters affecting both personal and community health [2,3]. However, the use of eHealth within or between institutions involves several factors that require proper planning, supported by well-defined policies, rules, standards, or guidelines at the institutional, jurisdictional, and global levels. The absence of these policies may cause problems during the cycle of eHealth planning that may lead to failures in achieving the intended goals. … The objective of this study was to conduct a detailed review of the literature to determine the scope of policy issues faced by individuals, institutions, or governments in implementing eHealth programs. The study does not recommend any policies or suggest the importance of any of the policy issues over the others." Read more
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
HHS Touts Big Strides in Health IT Adoption
Miliar, Mike. "HHS Touts Big Strides in Health IT Adoption." Healthcare IT News, February 17, 2012.
From the article: "The number of hospitals using health information technology has more than doubled in the last two years, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday.
Speaking at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley Health Science Institute in Kansas City, Sebelius also unveiled new data showing that nearly 2,000 hospitals and more than 41,000 doctors have received $3.1 billion in incentive payments for ensuring meaningful use of health IT, particularly certified electronic health records…. The announcement today detailed information from a new survey conducted by the American Hospital Association and reported by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), found that the percentage of U.S. hospitals that had adopted EHRs has more than doubled from 16 to 35 percent between 2009 and 2011.
In addition, 85 percent of hospitals now report that by 2015 they intend to take advantage of the incentive payments made available through the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs." Read more
See Also
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Announces Major Progress in Doctors, Hospital Use of Health Information Technology, press release by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, February 17, 2012.
From the article: "The number of hospitals using health information technology has more than doubled in the last two years, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday.
Speaking at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley Health Science Institute in Kansas City, Sebelius also unveiled new data showing that nearly 2,000 hospitals and more than 41,000 doctors have received $3.1 billion in incentive payments for ensuring meaningful use of health IT, particularly certified electronic health records…. The announcement today detailed information from a new survey conducted by the American Hospital Association and reported by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), found that the percentage of U.S. hospitals that had adopted EHRs has more than doubled from 16 to 35 percent between 2009 and 2011.
In addition, 85 percent of hospitals now report that by 2015 they intend to take advantage of the incentive payments made available through the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs." Read more
See Also
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Announces Major Progress in Doctors, Hospital Use of Health Information Technology, press release by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, February 17, 2012.
ONC to Survey Consumer EHR Privacy, Security Concerns
Mosquera, Mary. "ONC to Survey Consumer EHR Privacy, Security Concerns." Government Health IT, February 17, 2012.
From the article: "The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT plans to conduct a nationwide survey to gauge the percentage of individuals who are concerned about the privacy and security of electronic health records (EHRs).ONC will also inquire if individuals have kept any part of their medical history from their physician due to privacy concerns and if they are concerned that an unauthorized person would see their medical information if it is sent electronically,… ONC expects to interview 100 individuals for the pretest survey as part of the 2012 implementation year and interview 2,000 individuals annually for five years for the main survey." Read more
See Also
Tucker, Keith A., Agency Information Collection Request. 30-Day Public Comment Request, prepared by the Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, February 21, 2012.
From the article: "The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT plans to conduct a nationwide survey to gauge the percentage of individuals who are concerned about the privacy and security of electronic health records (EHRs).ONC will also inquire if individuals have kept any part of their medical history from their physician due to privacy concerns and if they are concerned that an unauthorized person would see their medical information if it is sent electronically,… ONC expects to interview 100 individuals for the pretest survey as part of the 2012 implementation year and interview 2,000 individuals annually for five years for the main survey." Read more
See Also
Tucker, Keith A., Agency Information Collection Request. 30-Day Public Comment Request, prepared by the Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, February 21, 2012.
HIMSS12: Data Will Be Driver of Health Care Change
Ackerman, Kate. "HIMSS12: Data Will Be Driver of Health Care Change." iHealthBeat, February 21, 2012.
From the article: "The power of data was an overarching theme of the first day of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's annual conference in Las Vegas. "This is the golden age of information, and we're going to use it to help people live longer lives and better lives," Lowell Catlett, an economist and futurist, said…. He predicted that increased transparency will lead to a new form of medical tourism where insurers use data to determine where patients should go to get certain services. New models could change the health care industry the same way iTunes changed the music industry, he said. Paul Grundy -- president of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative and director of Healthcare Transformation at IBM -- explained how data already are starting to transform the health care industry. … Grundy called it a "no brainer" to re-engineer the health care system with available data that can be used to hold health care providers accountable. He said that initial data show that implementing patient-centered medical homes led to a drop in hospital emergency department use, shorter hospital stays, lower health care spending and lower mortality rates." Read more
See Also
HIMSS Conference. "HIMSS12 Annual Conference and Exhibition."
HIMSS Conference. "2012 CIO Forum."
From the article: "The power of data was an overarching theme of the first day of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's annual conference in Las Vegas. "This is the golden age of information, and we're going to use it to help people live longer lives and better lives," Lowell Catlett, an economist and futurist, said…. He predicted that increased transparency will lead to a new form of medical tourism where insurers use data to determine where patients should go to get certain services. New models could change the health care industry the same way iTunes changed the music industry, he said. Paul Grundy -- president of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative and director of Healthcare Transformation at IBM -- explained how data already are starting to transform the health care industry. … Grundy called it a "no brainer" to re-engineer the health care system with available data that can be used to hold health care providers accountable. He said that initial data show that implementing patient-centered medical homes led to a drop in hospital emergency department use, shorter hospital stays, lower health care spending and lower mortality rates." Read more
See Also
HIMSS Conference. "HIMSS12 Annual Conference and Exhibition."
HIMSS Conference. "2012 CIO Forum."
The Patient of the Future
Cohen, John. "The Patient of the Future." Technology Review, March/April 2012.
From the article: "Back in 2000, when Larry Smarr left his job as head of a celebrated supercomputer center in Illinois to start a new institute at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Irvine, he rarely paid attention to his bathroom scale…. Smarr, who directs the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology in La Jolla, dropped from 205 to 184 pounds and is now a fit 63-year-old. But his transformation transcends his regular exercise program and carefully managed diet: he has become a poster man for the medical strategy of the future. Over the past decade, he has gathered as much data as he can about his body and then used that information to improve his health. And he has accomplished something that few people at the forefront of the "quantified self" movement have had the opportunity to do: he helped diagnose the emergence of a chronic disease in his body." Read more
From the article: "Back in 2000, when Larry Smarr left his job as head of a celebrated supercomputer center in Illinois to start a new institute at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Irvine, he rarely paid attention to his bathroom scale…. Smarr, who directs the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology in La Jolla, dropped from 205 to 184 pounds and is now a fit 63-year-old. But his transformation transcends his regular exercise program and carefully managed diet: he has become a poster man for the medical strategy of the future. Over the past decade, he has gathered as much data as he can about his body and then used that information to improve his health. And he has accomplished something that few people at the forefront of the "quantified self" movement have had the opportunity to do: he helped diagnose the emergence of a chronic disease in his body." Read more
The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom
McDowell, Robert M. "The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom." The Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2012.
From the opinion: “On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year's end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish "international control over the Internet" through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.
If successful, these new regulatory proposals would upend the Internet's flourishing regime, which has been in place since 1988. That year, delegates from 114 countries gathered in Australia to agree to a treaty that set the stage for dramatic liberalization of international telecommunications. This insulated the Internet from economic and technical regulation and quickly became the greatest deregulatory success story of all time.” Read more
From the opinion: “On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year's end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish "international control over the Internet" through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.
If successful, these new regulatory proposals would upend the Internet's flourishing regime, which has been in place since 1988. That year, delegates from 114 countries gathered in Australia to agree to a treaty that set the stage for dramatic liberalization of international telecommunications. This insulated the Internet from economic and technical regulation and quickly became the greatest deregulatory success story of all time.” Read more
Alert on Hacker Power Play
Gorman, Siobhan. "Alert on Hacker Power Play." The Wall Street Journal, February 21, 2012.
From the article: "The director of the National Security Agency has warned that the hacking group Anonymous could have the ability within the next year or two to bring about a limited power outage through a cyberattack. Gen. Keith Alexander, the director, provided his assessment in meetings at the White House and in other private sessions, according to people familiar with the gatherings. While he hasn't publicly expressed his concerns about the potential for Anonymous to disrupt power supplies, he has warned publicly about an emerging ability by cyberattackers to disable or even damage computer networks." Read more (subscription may be required)
See Also
Estes, Adam Clark. "The Future of Hacking Sounds Pretty Ridiculous." The Atlantic Wire, February 21, 2012.
Netburn, Deborah. "Anonymous' Flash Mob Targets Wall Street Journal's Facebook Pages." The Los Angeles Times, February 21, 2012.
From the article: "The director of the National Security Agency has warned that the hacking group Anonymous could have the ability within the next year or two to bring about a limited power outage through a cyberattack. Gen. Keith Alexander, the director, provided his assessment in meetings at the White House and in other private sessions, according to people familiar with the gatherings. While he hasn't publicly expressed his concerns about the potential for Anonymous to disrupt power supplies, he has warned publicly about an emerging ability by cyberattackers to disable or even damage computer networks." Read more (subscription may be required)
See Also
Estes, Adam Clark. "The Future of Hacking Sounds Pretty Ridiculous." The Atlantic Wire, February 21, 2012.
Netburn, Deborah. "Anonymous' Flash Mob Targets Wall Street Journal's Facebook Pages." The Los Angeles Times, February 21, 2012.
Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures Are Disappointing
From the report: “While staff encountered a diverse pool of apps for kids created by hundreds of different developers, staff found little, if any, information in the app marketplaces about the data collection and sharing practices of these apps. Staff found almost no relevant language regarding app data collection or sharing on the Apple app promotion pages, and minimal information (beyond the general “permission” statements required on the Android operating system ) on just three of the Android promotion pages. In most instances, staff was unable to determine from the promotion pages whether the apps collected any data at all, let alone the type of data collected, the purpose of the collection, and who collected or obtained access to the data. … FTC staff believes that all members of the kids app ecosystem – the app stores, developers, and third parties providing services within the apps – should play an active role in providing key information to parents who download apps…. App developers should provide this information through simple and short disclosures or icons that are easy to find and understand on the small screen of a mobile device.” Read more
Friday, February 17, 2012
Most Small Healthcare Practices Hacked In The Past 12 Months
Higgins, Kelly Jackson. "Most Small Healthcare Practices Hacked In The Past 12 Months." Dark Reading, February 16, 2012.
From the article: "If you were wondering how safe your medical records are at your doctor's office, then this might make you sick: Ninety-one percent of small healthcare practices in North America say they have suffered a data breach in the past 12 months. The survey, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and commissioned by MegaPath, queried more than 700 IT and administrative personnel in healthcare organizations of no more than 250 employees. Among the findings: Only 31 percent say their management considers data security and privacy a top priority, and 29 percent say their breaches resulted in medical identity theft." Read more
See Also
Exclusive Ponemon Study on Security Issues in the Healthcare Industry, MegaPath.
From the article: "If you were wondering how safe your medical records are at your doctor's office, then this might make you sick: Ninety-one percent of small healthcare practices in North America say they have suffered a data breach in the past 12 months. The survey, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and commissioned by MegaPath, queried more than 700 IT and administrative personnel in healthcare organizations of no more than 250 employees. Among the findings: Only 31 percent say their management considers data security and privacy a top priority, and 29 percent say their breaches resulted in medical identity theft." Read more
See Also
Exclusive Ponemon Study on Security Issues in the Healthcare Industry, MegaPath.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
A Brewing Battle Over Warrantless Wiretapping
Jaffer, Jameel."A Brewing Battle Over Warrantless Wiretapping." The Huffington Post, February 15, 2012.
From the article: "One of the hardest-fought civil liberties battles of the George W. Bush era involved the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the post-Watergate statute that was meant to rein in domestic surveillance undertaken in the name of national security. It's almost certain that we'll have an equally hard-fought battle over FISA this year, both in the courts and in Congress. The first volley may come as early as next week, because the administration must decide by Tuesday whether to ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the ACLU's constitutional challenge to the FISA Amendments Act, the 2008 law that ratified and expanded the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. And that law is scheduled to sunset in December, which means that the litigation will unfold against the background of a congressional reauthorization debate." Read more
From the article: "One of the hardest-fought civil liberties battles of the George W. Bush era involved the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the post-Watergate statute that was meant to rein in domestic surveillance undertaken in the name of national security. It's almost certain that we'll have an equally hard-fought battle over FISA this year, both in the courts and in Congress. The first volley may come as early as next week, because the administration must decide by Tuesday whether to ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the ACLU's constitutional challenge to the FISA Amendments Act, the 2008 law that ratified and expanded the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. And that law is scheduled to sunset in December, which means that the litigation will unfold against the background of a congressional reauthorization debate." Read more
Health Care Innovation: From Regulation To ‘Bigger Brains’
Kolawole, Emi. “Health Care Innovation: From Regulation To ‘Bigger Brains.’” The Washington Post, February 14, 2012.
From the article: "Andrew von Eschenbach finds it surprising that people are so willing to share nearly every detail of their lives online but suddenly become squeamish over electronic health care records...But the excitement for the future of health care technology was tempered by the high regulatory bar, one that must take into account the life-and-death implications of the products that stand to be used on people in their most physically and emotionally vulnerable moments. According to von Eschenbach, it’s all about how new developments are presented to people. "If you’re telling them this is for them, it’s amazing how cooperative and open people can be," he said. Read more
From the article: "Andrew von Eschenbach finds it surprising that people are so willing to share nearly every detail of their lives online but suddenly become squeamish over electronic health care records...But the excitement for the future of health care technology was tempered by the high regulatory bar, one that must take into account the life-and-death implications of the products that stand to be used on people in their most physically and emotionally vulnerable moments. According to von Eschenbach, it’s all about how new developments are presented to people. "If you’re telling them this is for them, it’s amazing how cooperative and open people can be," he said. Read more
DOJ Kills Wireless Network In Budget Request
Lipowicz, Alice. “DOJ Kills Wireless Network in Budget Request.” Federal Computer Week, February 15, 2012.
From the article: "The Justice Department has made it official—the Integrated Wireless Network program is over and there is no funding requested for it in the next fiscal year…The termination of the wireless network is just one of dozens of relatively small cuts being proposed for an array of smaller programs in the department. While the major agency budgets in the department budget remain relatively intact, there are small shifts in funding, both up and down, proposed for information-sharing and intelligence technologies and programs…The integrated wireless network project was initiated in 2004 and within a short time grew to $5 billion in projected costs and coverage for more than 80,000 agents at Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury. About $350 million had been spent to date, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office." Read more
From the article: "The Justice Department has made it official—the Integrated Wireless Network program is over and there is no funding requested for it in the next fiscal year…The termination of the wireless network is just one of dozens of relatively small cuts being proposed for an array of smaller programs in the department. While the major agency budgets in the department budget remain relatively intact, there are small shifts in funding, both up and down, proposed for information-sharing and intelligence technologies and programs…The integrated wireless network project was initiated in 2004 and within a short time grew to $5 billion in projected costs and coverage for more than 80,000 agents at Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury. About $350 million had been spent to date, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office." Read more
Cyber Attacks Can Spark Real Wars
Clarke, Richard A. "Cyber Attacks Can Spark Real Wars." The Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2012.
From the article: "For most of this year, Arab-Israeli tensions have been spilling off the streets and airwaves and onto the region's fiber optic cables. Citizen hackers on both sides have engaged in tit-for-tat raids on Israeli, Saudi and other regional computer networks. Stock exchanges, airlines, government offices and even hospitals have had their websites defaced or shut down. Credit-card numbers and personal emails have been stolen and posted on the Internet. One Israeli official has labeled the escalating cyber hostility "terrorism" and called for it to be dealt with as such.
It has not been terrorism. No one has died and, so far, nothing has blown up as a result. Indeed, most of the activity has involved the use of relatively commonplace hacker tools and techniques. This ongoing cyber "hacktivism" has, however, demonstrated three things that should cause nations to act." Read more (subscription may be required)
From the article: "For most of this year, Arab-Israeli tensions have been spilling off the streets and airwaves and onto the region's fiber optic cables. Citizen hackers on both sides have engaged in tit-for-tat raids on Israeli, Saudi and other regional computer networks. Stock exchanges, airlines, government offices and even hospitals have had their websites defaced or shut down. Credit-card numbers and personal emails have been stolen and posted on the Internet. One Israeli official has labeled the escalating cyber hostility "terrorism" and called for it to be dealt with as such.
It has not been terrorism. No one has died and, so far, nothing has blown up as a result. Indeed, most of the activity has involved the use of relatively commonplace hacker tools and techniques. This ongoing cyber "hacktivism" has, however, demonstrated three things that should cause nations to act." Read more (subscription may be required)
Electronic Health Record–Based Messages to Primary Care Providers: Valuable Information or Just Noise?
Murphy, Daniel R., Brian Reis, Himabindu Kadiyala, Kamal Hirani, Dean F. Sittig, Myrna M. Khan, and Hardeep Singh. "Electronic Health Record–Based Messages to Primary Care Providers: Valuable Information or Just Noise?" Archives of Internal Medicine. 2012;172(3):283-285, February 13, 2012.
From the article: "Communication between clinicians is critical to coordination of care and prevention of adverse outcomes in the outpatient setting. Increasing the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and medical home-based care models will greatly increase electronic communication between different members of the health care team.1-3 One method of clinician-to-clinician communication is note-based messaging through the EHR, where the recipient is requested to provide their "additional signature" to a message to attest that it was received. We recently found that primary care providers (PCPs) receive a large number of EHR-based additional signature request (ASR) alerts and spend considerable time processing them.4 Large numbers of messages5-6 might also cause PCPs to miss certain higher-priority notifications." Read more
See Also
From the article: "Communication between clinicians is critical to coordination of care and prevention of adverse outcomes in the outpatient setting. Increasing the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and medical home-based care models will greatly increase electronic communication between different members of the health care team.1-3 One method of clinician-to-clinician communication is note-based messaging through the EHR, where the recipient is requested to provide their "additional signature" to a message to attest that it was received. We recently found that primary care providers (PCPs) receive a large number of EHR-based additional signature request (ASR) alerts and spend considerable time processing them.4 Large numbers of messages5-6 might also cause PCPs to miss certain higher-priority notifications." Read more
See Also
McDonald, Clement J. and Michael H. McDonald. INVITED COMMENTARY—Electronic Medical Records and Preserving Primary Care Physicians' Time: Comment on "Electronic Health Record–Based Messages to Primary Care Providers." Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(3):285-287, February 13, 2012.
Google's New Privacy Policy: When Consumers' Worlds Collide, the Company Stands to Profit
"Google's New Privacy Policy: When Consumers' Worlds Collide, the Company Stands to Profit." Knowledge@Wharton, The Wharton School of Pennsylvania, February 15, 2012.
From the article: On March 1, the Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet giant plans to toss out more than 60 different privacy policies and consolidate its services under a single set of guidelines. The harmonization will remove separation between YouTube, Google+, Gmail, Google search and other Google products, meaning that the company will be able to use data it collects from users in one area across all of its platforms. The goal, as Google tells it, is to "create one beautifully simple, intuitive user experience" that treats consumers "as a single user across all our products."
"The reason this becomes a non-trivial piece of news is because our data can now be used out of context from what might have been expected when the user first provided the information," notes Anindya Ghose, a visiting professor at Wharton and co-director of New York University's Center for Digital Economy Research. "That is, data provided in one setting might now be used in a different setting. It is precisely this data sharing across contexts that creates privacy concerns." Read more
From the article: On March 1, the Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet giant plans to toss out more than 60 different privacy policies and consolidate its services under a single set of guidelines. The harmonization will remove separation between YouTube, Google+, Gmail, Google search and other Google products, meaning that the company will be able to use data it collects from users in one area across all of its platforms. The goal, as Google tells it, is to "create one beautifully simple, intuitive user experience" that treats consumers "as a single user across all our products."
"The reason this becomes a non-trivial piece of news is because our data can now be used out of context from what might have been expected when the user first provided the information," notes Anindya Ghose, a visiting professor at Wharton and co-director of New York University's Center for Digital Economy Research. "That is, data provided in one setting might now be used in a different setting. It is precisely this data sharing across contexts that creates privacy concerns." Read more
Finland Has Largest Share of Economy Based on Information Technology
"Finland Has Largest Share of Economy Based On Information Technology." United Nations News Centre, February 15, 2012.
From the article: "Finland has the world’s largest portion of domestic economic activities related to information and communication technology, with almost a tenth of the European country’s non-agricultural business workforce employed in the ICT sector, according to United Nations data released today. The data, released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, also shows that the ICT sector is still in its infancy in many developing economies. The UNCTAD database currently contains information on 57 economies. The lack of more comprehensive data can be seen as yet another illustration of the digital divide, the agency said in a press release." Read more
See Also
"Information Economy Report 2011: ICTs as an Enabler for Private Sector Development." Paper presented at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, February 15, 2012.
From the article: "Finland has the world’s largest portion of domestic economic activities related to information and communication technology, with almost a tenth of the European country’s non-agricultural business workforce employed in the ICT sector, according to United Nations data released today. The data, released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, also shows that the ICT sector is still in its infancy in many developing economies. The UNCTAD database currently contains information on 57 economies. The lack of more comprehensive data can be seen as yet another illustration of the digital divide, the agency said in a press release." Read more
See Also
"Information Economy Report 2011: ICTs as an Enabler for Private Sector Development." Paper presented at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, February 15, 2012.
Making IT Meaningful: How Consumers Value and Trust Health IT
"With Government Providing Incentives for Widespread Adoption of Health Information Technology, Survey Finds that Consumers Value Electronic Health Records — But Worries Persist About Breaches of Data." The National Partnership for Women and Families, February 15, 2012.
From the press release: "As more and more consumers see their doctors using electronic health records (EHRs), trust in doctors is high and patients have confidence that health information technology (health IT) can improve the quality and coordination of care. Those with online access to their own medical records are especially supportive of health IT. But consumers have persistent concerns that data breaches will occur.… Making IT Meaningful: How Consumers Value and Trust Health IT takes an unprecedented look at consumer confidence in health IT. Survey respondents had an ongoing relationship with a care provider and knew whether that provider uses an electronic or paper record system. Among the findings:...There are concerns about data breaches and current privacy laws. Three in five respondents whose doctors use EHRs (59 percent) agree that widespread adoption of EHRs will lead to even more personal information being lost or stolen, as do 66 percent of respondents whose doctors use paper records. Similarly, more than half of those whose doctors use EHRs (51 percent) and 53 percent of those whose doctors use paper records agree that the privacy of personal medical records and personal health information is not currently well protected by federal and state laws and organizational practices." Read more
See Also
"Making IT Meaningful: How Consumers Value and Trust Health IT." The National Partnership for Women and Families, February 15, 2012.
From the press release: "As more and more consumers see their doctors using electronic health records (EHRs), trust in doctors is high and patients have confidence that health information technology (health IT) can improve the quality and coordination of care. Those with online access to their own medical records are especially supportive of health IT. But consumers have persistent concerns that data breaches will occur.… Making IT Meaningful: How Consumers Value and Trust Health IT takes an unprecedented look at consumer confidence in health IT. Survey respondents had an ongoing relationship with a care provider and knew whether that provider uses an electronic or paper record system. Among the findings:...There are concerns about data breaches and current privacy laws. Three in five respondents whose doctors use EHRs (59 percent) agree that widespread adoption of EHRs will lead to even more personal information being lost or stolen, as do 66 percent of respondents whose doctors use paper records. Similarly, more than half of those whose doctors use EHRs (51 percent) and 53 percent of those whose doctors use paper records agree that the privacy of personal medical records and personal health information is not currently well protected by federal and state laws and organizational practices." Read more
See Also
"Making IT Meaningful: How Consumers Value and Trust Health IT." The National Partnership for Women and Families, February 15, 2012.