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A hospital official says no patient data was compromised and the IT staff wiped the infected systems clean. 

Medsphere Systems Corp., whose OpenVista electronic health record is based on the architecture of the Department of Veterans Affairs' VistA EHR, has released a mobile version of the technology called Mobile OpenVista Enterprise, or MOVE. With secure and real-time access to patient data wherever a clinician has Wi-Fi or cellular coverage, officials say MOVE – which includes Medsphere's NoteAssist patient documentation system – allows physicians and nurses to review medication orders and record patient information on the go. [Also: OpenVista EHR maker Medsphere merges with MBS/Net] "Without doubt, healthcare IT is moving toward mobility and enhanced, streamlined processes," said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald in a statement. "Medsphere is excited about moving OpenVista in that same direction." On March 17, Medsphere also announced an expansion of it products and services since its recent mergers with Phoenix Health Systems and MBS/Net. Phoenix Health continues to integrate its infrastructure support and application management skills with Medsphere's offerings. Meanwhile, MBS/Net's technology, such as physician practice management system and ambulatory EHR, are being integrated with OpenVista, officials said. Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ use of telemedicine to treat patients at its Vermont hospital at White River Junction resulted in an average travel payment savings of $18,555 per year between 2005 and 2013, according to a study published in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health. The study found that telemedicine resulted in an average savings of 145 miles and 142 minutes per visit, resulting in the aforementioned payment reductions, while telemedicine services volume grew significantly over the study period such that by the final year the travel savings had increased to $63,804, or about 3.5 percent of the total travel pay for that year. [Also: VA picks up $233 million from Congress to fund VistA EHR upgrades] Authors of the report explained that the number of mental health telemedicine visits increased during the study period but remained small relative to the number of face-to-face visits. And a higher proportion of telemedicine visits involved new patients. On a nationwide scale, the VA has taken strides to use telehealth tools for treating its patients. For example, an August 2015 study determined that older veterans with depression benefited from telemedicine talk as much as in-person therapy sessions. That study, published in The Lancet, found that older veterans with depression benefited from telemedicine talk as much as in-person therapy sessions. With many seniors facing difficulties to getting help for depression, including mobility issues and fear of social stigma, telemedicine can increase their access to treatment, the study found. And with the national VA healthcare system’s travel pay to patients for getting to appointments projected to cost nearly $1 billion in 2015, a 3.5 percent reduction, if achievable at scale, can yield significant savings. Twitter: @HealthITNews

A new report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology claims technologies such as telehealth and wearable sensors should be put to work to help more elderly Americans stay healthy and connected as they age. The report by PCAST, an advisory group of scientists and engineers appointed by President Barack Obama to make policy recommendations related to technology and science, found these types of technologies can help elderly Americans face challenges tied to social connectivity, emotional health and cognitive and physical ability. "With many Americans wishing to live in their homes and communities for as long as possible, technology such as prosthetics, wearable sensors, and other tools for daily living can make that possible," said PCAST members Christine Cassel and Ed Penhoet. [Also: Mobile apps emerging as essential population health tools] As of 2014, an unprecedented 15 percent of the U.S. population was over the age of 65, according to the Census Bureau, and many of them remain active. Recommendations also include creating better access to the Internet as something essential to health, social engagement and well-being, and offering more education and training for seniors in online technologies. PCAST also suggests greater efforts by technology providers to develop monitoring tools for frail and vulnerable elders. But the report also calls on a federal agencies to make changes. Specifically it pointed to telehealth as something with clear benefits for seniors living remotely or with limited mobility – but said the government needed to update regulation and payment policies to reflect recent innovation in the space. For another example, the Federal Trade Commission should continue to enforce regulatory review and guidelines for commercial cognitive training products, PCAST said. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] And the group called upon an array of federal agencies – from the National Institutes of Health to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA – to expand research on projects such as robotics and advanced mobility technology. It also recommended that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services payment policies should be adapted to increase seniors' access to those next-generation tools. "Technology has played an important role in increasing life expectancy, but it also has an important role to play in increasing the quality of life by maximizing Americans’ ability to function in their later years," PCAST Chairs John Holdren and Eric Lander wrote in a letter to President Obama. Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN

The laptop that was reported missing from Premier Healthcare on Jan. 4, has been returned via U.S. mail. According to a statement from the Bloomington, Indiana physician-led multispecialty healthcare provider, the laptop was returned on March 7. Premiere had reported the laptop stolen from the billing department in its locked and alarmed administrative office. [Also: Premier Healthcare faces possible data breach] Premier hired an information security consulting firm that specializes in digital forensics and incident response to conduct a comprehensive forensic analysis, which revealed the laptop had not been powered since it went missing, Premier officials said in a statement. Premier had feared a possible breach that could have affected nearly 206,000 patients. For 1,769 of those patients, social security numbers and financial information could also have been accessed. Premier continues to investigate the case. It has reported return of the laptop to the Bloomington Police Department for use in their continuing investigation. Twitter: @HealthITNews

Though more hospitals are reporting infection rates publicly, a new report from The Leapfrog Group shows that more than half of hospitals across the country still grapple with sometimes deadly healthcare-associated infections. "A record number of hospitals make their infection rates public, which shows commendable transparency and candor within the hospital industry,” Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder said in a statement. "The bad news is there are still too many infections." [Also: View all Leapfrog's 'F' hospitals] According to the Leapfrog report, the central line infection rate was too high at 75 percent of hospitals. Only 25 percent of hospitals met Leapfrog's standardized infection ratio of zero for CLABSI, or central line-associated bloodstream infection. Sixty-seven percent of hospitals had a infection rate between zero and 1.0, while 8 percent had a ratio above 1.0. Also, only 25 percent of hospitals met Leapfrog's urinary tract infection standard. CAUTI, or catheter-associated urinary tract infections are considered the most common type of healthcare-acquired infections, and Leapfrog's standard for this infection is close to zero. Infection rates also varied by state, choice of hospital and metropolitan area. On average, New Hampshire had the safest hospitals, with 67 percent reporting a CLABSI rate of zero. Rhode Island and Maryland are most in need of improvement, with no hospitals reporting a CLABSI rate of zero. What's more, hospital infection rates vary significantly within communities. For example, one West Coast city had CLABSI rates range from zero to more than five times the expected rate. Infection rates are declining, but more transparency and quality improvement are needed, the report stresses. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] Public reporting through Leapfrog has helped reduce CLABSI rates, Binder said. For example, the percentage of hospitals reporting a CLABSI rate of zero has steadily increased from 18.8 percent in 2013 to 25 percent in 2015. Yet, three quarters of hospitals still do not meet Leapfrog's standards. The report on healthcare-acquired infections is the first in a series of five reports Leapfrog has planned to examine key quality and safety measures at hospitals nationwide. The reports are based on data from the 2015 Leapfrog Hospital Survey of more than 1,500 U.S. hospitals and analysis provided by Castlight Health. Twitter: @HealthITNews

Primary care doctors now lose more than an hour a day to sorting through approximately 77 electronic health record notifications, researchers at Baylor University found. “Information overload is of concern because new types of notifications and ‘FYI’ (for your information) messages can be easily created in the EHR (vs in a paper-based system),” the researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association  Internal Medicine.      Making the workload harder to endure, reading and processing these messages is uncompensated in an environment of reduced reimbursements for office-based care, according to the study. [Also: Epic to develop Apple Watch app, 'Limerick,' a test results notifier] Physicians are receiving these increasing amounts of notifications in EHR-based inboxes such as Epic’s In-Basket and General Electric Centricity’s Documents. The messages include test results, responses to referrals, requests for medication refills, and messages from physicians and other healthcare professionals. The system is crying out for change the researchers wrote. “Strategies to help filter messages relevant to high-quality care, EHR designs that support team-based care, and staffing models that assist physicians in managing this influx of information are needed.” What’s more, optimistic predictions that EHRs would improve patient care through better doctor-patient communications have not ubiquitously materialized. “Unfortunately, we are far from this promise and now also grapple with the unintended consequences of EHRs,” Joseph Ross, MD wrote in an editorial accompanying the research.  In fact, electronic “paperwork” has burdened doctors and reduced the time for patient care. Ross advocated that inbox notification capabilities be periodically reviewed to be sure EHRs are working in the best interests of patient care and not creating an unnecessary burden on physicians. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] In addition, doctors should be reimbursed for time spent reviewing EHR notifications. “Although many of these notifications are in the service of patients,” Ross wrote, “we need to be sure that physicians’ reimbursement, particularly for primary care physicians, is taking into account the full time needed to manage patients’ care.”  Twitter: @HealthITNews

HIMSS16 provided countless hours of must-see video content for Healthcare IT News, from fascinating interviews with thought leaders and speakers at the conference to in-depth panel discussions and show floor highlights throughout the week. We have compiled the top 5 videos to date for you to watch in case you missed them.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday named a slate of healthcare professionals from top providers and tech firms to its Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 tasked HHS with the creation of the panel, which is expected to come up with recommendations for helping safeguard the industry. HHS, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and Technology selected the task force members based on recommendations from a panel of subject matter experts. [Also: HHS seeks industry pros to join healthcare cybersecurity task force] "While all industries continue to face a growing threat of attacks on their information systems, the size and scope of attacks on healthcare information systems have accelerated particularly rapidly in the past two years," HHS officials said in a statement. The group will schedule four in-person meetings and through teleconferences until March 2017, when the task force will disband. It is expected to report its findings and recommendations before then. The members are: Theresa Meadows, RN, senior vice president and CIO, Cook Children's Health Care System. George DeCesare, a lawyer, and senior vice president and chief technology risk officer, Kaiser Permanente Health Plan Roy Mellinger, vice president of IT security, and chief information security officer Anthem Mark Jarrett, MD, senior vice president and chief quality officer, Northwell Health, and professor of medicine Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine Jacki Monson, a lawyer and chief privacy and information security officer, Sutter Health Ram Ramadoss, vice president, CRP privacy and information security and EHR compliance oversight, Catholic Health Initiatives Fred Trotter, data journalist, CareSet Systems David Ting, co-founder and chief technology officer, Imprivata Christine Sublett, CISO and head of compliance, Augmedix David Finn, health information technology officer, Symantec Michael McNeil, global product security and services officer, Philips Healthcare Terry Rice, vice president, IT risk management and CISO, Merck & Co. Joshua Corman, co-founder, I Am The Cavalry Alissa Johnson, CISO, Stryker Corp. Vito Sardanopoli, director of cyber security services and governance, Quest Diagnostics Dan McWhorter, vice president and chief intelligence strategist, FireEye Anura Fernando, principal engineer, medical and software systems interoperability at UL, LLC Emery Csulak, CISO, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Laura Laybourn, director of stakeholder engagement and cyber infrastructure resilience, Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, U.S. Department of Homeland Security The task force will also include a representative from NIST and one from the Federal Health IT Advisory Council, but they have not yet been named. Twitter: @HealthITNews

The app enables doctors to receive alerts via Apple Watch so if they are waiting on test results about one patient, that physician can know immediately.