Now, keep up to date
with daily feeds of newly posted stories
about America's Seniors...click on the box
to the left
Rural Hospital places critical bet on Health
IT; Technology raises fears of hackers
[Aug 04, 2009] A small, rural hospital in
Missouri is "rolling the dice" on electronic
medical records, its CEO tells the
Associated Press.
The 47-bed hospitals borrowed nearly $1
million to implement an electronic records
system, and that's on top of a $370,000
operating deficit and staff layoffs.
The executives are banking on a government
bailout in the form of a "$3 million
windfall" of stimulus-funded incentives for
hospitals to switch to electronic
record-keeping.
The billions of dollars of incentives will
be available to doctors and hospitals that
make "meaningful use" of electronic records
beginning in 2011, the AP reports.
"Across the country, many small, rural
hospitals have been hesitant to do away with
their clipboards of handwritten nurses'
notes and doctors' orders because of the
budget-busting costs of electronic systems
and a shortage of staff with the technical
expertise to oversee them."
The Missouri hospital may be an exception.
The loan to implement the records, offset by
a local tax increase that would help fund
the emergency room, could be enough to keep
the hospital in business until the new
incentives hit their balance sheets (Lieb,
8/4).
The Wall Street Journal reports that new
technologies are appearing that interface
with health information technology.
For instance, Proteus Biomedical, a Silicon
Valley company, "is testing a miniature
digestible chip that can be attached to
conventional medication, sending a signal
that confirms whether patients are taking
their prescribed pills.
A sensing device worn on the skin uses
wireless technology to relay that
information to doctors, along with readings
about patients' vital signs" (Clark, 8/4).
As hospitals go digital, the
Wall Street Journal reports in a
separate story, they are increasing their
exposure to a new epidemic: hackers.
Though
government officials have acknowledged the
need for greater security, details remain
unclear, and "privacy advocates are
concerned the administration's effort could
end up making health information less
secure."
Last year, health organizations reported 97
data breaches, up from 64 the previous year.
A much larger jump in reported attacks is
expected this year, in part due to a new law
that requires disclosure of breaches in
California (Worthen, 8/4).
... ..
...
...