News Briefs
Biden Executive Order Aims to Bolster AI Security in Healthcare
The Biden Administration issued what it's calling a "landmark" executive order designed to help channel the significant promise and manage the many risks of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Among its many prescriptions for safer and more standardized AI innovation, the order contains some specific directives related to algorithms used in healthcare settings, designed to protect patients from harm.
(Source: Healthcare IT News, 2023-10-30)
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Doctors Cautiously Using AI, Hoping for More Oversight
In medicine, the cautionary tales about the unintended effects of artificial intelligence are already legendary. Wary of such flaws, physicians have kept AI working on the sidelines, assisting as a scribe, as a casual second opinion, and as a back-office organizer, but the field has gained investment and momentum for uses in medicine and beyond.
(Source: The New York Times, 2023-10-30)
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HHS Proposes Penalties for Health Systems' Information Blocking
Federal officials are proposing penalties for healthcare organizations accused of information blocking. The Health and Human Services Department has released a proposed rule that would establish three specific "disincentives" for healthcare providers found by the HHS Office of the Inspector General to have knowingly and unreasonably interfered with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information except as required by law or covered by regulatory exception.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2023-10-30)
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Cybersecurity Toolkit for Healthcare and Public Health Released
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services released the Cybersecurity Toolkit for Healthcare and Public Health after a discussion on cybersecurity challenges the U.S. healthcare and public health sector system faces and how government and industry can work together to close the gaps in resources and cyber capabilities. Because adversaries see healthcare and public health organizations as high-value, "cyber poor" targets, CISA is working with HHS and the healthcare sector to secure health organizations, explained CISA Deputy Director Nitin Natarajan in the announcement, especially under-resourced hospitals and health centers.
(Source: Healthcare IT News, 2023-10-26)
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Healthcare Ransomware Attacks Have Cost $77.5 Billion in Downtime
Ransomware attacks on U.S. healthcare organizations have cost the economy around $77.5 billion in downtime since 2016, according to an analysis by technology review and cybersecurity research firm Comparitech. Downtime, when facilities are unable to provide services or are shut down, varied between attacks.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2023-10-27)
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Cybersecurity Toolkit for Healthcare and Public Health Released
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services released the Cybersecurity Toolkit for Healthcare and Public Health after a discussion on cybersecurity challenges the U.S. healthcare and public health sector system faces and how government and industry can work together to close the gaps in resources and cyber capabilities. Because adversaries see healthcare and public health organizations as high-value, "cyber poor" targets, CISA is working with HHS and the healthcare sector to secure health organizations, explained CISA Deputy Director Nitin Natarajan in the announcement, especially under-resourced hospitals and health centers.
(Source: Healthcare IT News, 2023-10-26)
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Healthcare Ransomware Attacks Have Cost $77.5 Billion in Downtime
Ransomware attacks on U.S. healthcare organizations have cost the economy around $77.5 billion in downtime since 2016, according to an analysis by technology review and cybersecurity research firm Comparitech. Downtime, when facilities are unable to provide services or are shut down, varied between attacks.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2023-10-27)
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More Patients Being Offered, and Using, Online Medical Records
More patients are accessing their medical records online via patient portals or apps and are doing so more often than in years past, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. From 2020 to 2022, the portion of U.S. adults who reported being offered access to their medical records by a provider or insurer increased 24 percent to about three in five, the office wrote in a recent data brief, and the percentage who said they were offered access and used it jumped 50 percent during the same period, from 38 percent to 57 percent, according to ONC.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2023-10-27)
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Hospices Using Technology to Boost Satisfaction, Retain Employees
With burnout as a major cause of turnover, hospices are applying technology to take some of the pressure off of staff in hopes of boosting retention. A frequent goal is reducing the amount of time spent on documentation.
(Source: Hospice News, 2023-10-27)
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Biden Proposes New Rule Addressing Out-of-Network IDR Process
The Biden administration is moving to overhaul how health insurers and healthcare providers hash out payment for surprise medical bills, amid heavy criticism of the process. Regulators proposed a rule that they say is the result of feedback received on that independent dispute resolution process, or IDR.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2023-10-30)
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Medical Coworking Helps Doctors Provide Quality Care
The current healthcare environment is not as conducive to private practice medicine as it once was. One of the solutions for many healthcare professionals has been -- and continues to be -- medical coworking, an innovative, flexible, office space model adapted to the needs of medical professionals in private practice, where they can share space, community, and resources.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2023-10-25)
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Analysis Finds 25% of People Getting Care from Non-Physicians
A new analysis of Medicare data suggests that a quarter of people are getting their care from health providers other than physicians. The analysis, published in The BMJ, found that in 2019, one out of every four patients on Medicare received care from nurse practitioners and physician assistants, an increase from 2013 when only 16 percent of patients were seen by NPs and PAs.
(Source: WFYI, 2023-10-25)
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Doctor Shortage Showing No Signs of Improving, Study Finds
The ongoing shortage of U.S. healthcare providers shows no signs of abating and may be getting worse, a new study reveals. Data from the annual benchmarking report of the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment shows that the percentage of searches filled decreased in 2022 for the fifth consecutive year.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2023-10-24)
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