The Markle Foundation's "blue-button" concept for enabling patients to download their records from a secure website is suitable for a wide variety of healthcare organizations, says Josh Lemieux, the foundation's director of personal health technology.
Enabling the national exchange of electronic health records will require a formal governance system to monitor whether the players are abiding by the same rules.
Hospitals and physician group practices applying for federal incentive payments for using electronic health records must carefully address privacy as well as security issues, says Kelly McLendon, president of Health Information Xperts.
Detailed patient consent recommendations that a privacy and security "tiger team" recently completed are just a starting point toward giving patients far more control over their healthcare information, the co-chair of the team acknowledges.
Educating staff about keeping protected health information off social media should be a high priority, much like education about sexual harassment, discrimination or any other behavior with zero tolerance.
Just as most financial institutions have implemented security measures to protect access to customers' accounts and personal data, it is just a matter of time before healthcare organizations will be required to do the same.
The California state legislature has passed a stronger data breach notification bill that could mean increased consumer privacy protection for residents -- if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs it into law.
A committee that advises federal regulators on healthcare information technology policies has approved detailed recommendations for how and when to obtain patient consent for the exchange of their electronic health records.
The United States has a long way to go in leveraging information technology to minimize the health impacts of natural disasters, disease outbreaks, terrorist attacks and other incidents.
In the wake of settlements with drugstore chains Rite Aid and CVS over HIPAA violations, federal regulators confirm they're investigating Walgreens for similar incidents.
Physician group practices shopping for an electronic health record system need to ask vendors plenty of security questions to avoid problems after implementation.
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