Healthcare IT News

We're getting on toward the end of the quarter, so we've welcomed back the HIMSS Government Relations team – SVP of Government Relations Tom Leary, Senior Director Jeff Coughlin and Director for Government Relations and Health Policy David Gray – to share impressions, hopes and predictions for the new Biden Administration. From the HIMSS Media side, host Jonah Comstock, Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Mike Miliard and HITN Senior Editor Kat Jercich led the conversation. This episode was recorded on Thursday March 10th, just before President Biden's prime time address and about a week before Xavier Becerra's confirmation vote.  Like what you hear? Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play! Talking points: Prioritizing equity and access in vaccine distribution. HIMSS’ letter to the Biden administration. What can we learn from the American Rescue Act? Spending billions to save trillions – modernizing public health. What to expect when the info-blocking rules kick in. The role of the government, if any, in vaccine credentialing. Broadband and health equity. Predictions and expectations about Biden’s healthcare appointees, from HHS to FDA. Impacts of the Democratic Party’s slim majority. More about this story: HIMSS' letter to the Biden Administration New HHS Secretary Becerra urged to expand digital health access ONC chief Micky Tripathi talks public health data systems and "health equity by design" COVID-19 relief package includes health IT expansion Compliance with ONC and CMS rules could offer growth opportunity FDA streamlines pathway to at-home asymptomatic COVID-19 test approval Medicare for All push resurrected by U.S. House of Representatives Hospitals and insurers applaud Senate confirmation of a Xavier Becerra as HHS Secretary Biden Administration invests in expanding COVID-19 testing and treatments in schools and underserved communities Biden announces national vaccine finder website, May 1 eligibility for all adults House approves $1.9 trillion rescue plan, which now goes before Biden for his signature

Dr. Lauren Eberly and Dr. Srinath Adusumalli join us to discuss their study on who’s using virtual care – and who may be getting left behind.

Good data management is essential to success in a major public health endeavor.

eMocha CEO Sebastian Seiguer joins us to look ahead at the Biden administration and discuss what needs to happen next for telehealth.

Leaders of all three HIMSS Media brands discuss what's coming in the new year

Healthcare lawyer Matt Fisher breaks down how the changes could affect patient privacy and access.

Telehealth relies on reliable, secure connectivity — and that's not something we can take for granted.

On today's HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock sits down with Gabe Gumbs, head of product strategy and innovation at Spirion about his experiences with, and views on, data security and privacy. Gabe and Jonah talk about the difference between privacy and security, when to focus more on one or the other, the advantages healthcare has in this realm, and the challenges it is still facing. Click here to register for next week's Healthcare Security Forum.   Talking points: Healthcare’s edge in security: experience with privacy. Privacy vs. security: Which one is important for what data? The state of privacy and security regulation, and where it might go. What personal information should be private? Does the United States need its own GDPR? Privacy concerns around COVID-19 contact tracing. The limits of de-identification. Data security trends for healthcare providers. How to prepare for ransomware attacks. The paradox of compromise. More about this episode: Gabe's podcast "Privacy Please" Protect what matters most — patient information (Spirion whitepaper) Major security incidents are the new normal for hospitals and health systems Cybercriminals seek to take advantage of rapid telehealth scale-up HHS: More than 2M patients affected by breaches reported in October FBI, HHS warn of 'increased and imminent' cyber threat to hospitals Contact tracing tech sparks privacy concerns, but most consumers and IT experts still support its use

The COVID-19 crisis has spurred all kinds of technical innovation, not just virtual visits. For United Methodist Communities in Neptune, New Jersey, the pandemic gave them the opportunity, and the necessity, to launch a remote monitoring program, starting with fall detection, that has led to an 80% reduction in falls. On today's episode host Jonah Comstock welcomes Larry Carlson, CEO of UMC, to look back at that experience and look ahead to the future of remote patient monitoring at UMC. This podcast is brought to you by Kajeet.     More about this podcast: United Methodist Communities has early successes with telehealth and RPM A guide to connected health device and remote patient monitoring vendors Hospitals get additional $20 billion infusion of CARES Act funds How fall detection is moving beyond the pendant  

The HIMSSCast team sat down with HIMSS Chief Americas Officer Denise Hines for a post-week analysis.