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ResCare chooses GuardianEdge to assist in HIPAA compliance

GuardianEdge, the leader in endpoint data protection, today announced that ResCare, one of the nation's leading providers of services to people with disabilities and the elderly, has selected GuardianEdge to secure the company's more than 6,000 endpoint devices and to assist in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. To ensure that sensitive patient data is secure, ResCare has deployed GuardianEdge Hard Disk Encryption, GuardianEdge Removable Storage Encryption and GuardianEdge Device Control.

21 Jan 2010

Rules for patient data security remain widely unenforced

"As the federal government prepares to spend up to $27 billion in stimulus funds to promote electronic medical records, a health technology industry survey suggests that a number of hospitals, health clinics, and insurance firms are violating federal security rules on patient data and putting sensitive health information at risk," The Center for Public Integrity reports.

21 Jan 2010

Health IT news: Grassley queries hospitals, Microsoft's CEO sees need to boost tech for doctors, hospitals

Modern Healthcare: "Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has sent a letter asking 31 hospitals to report on their relationships with healthcare IT vendors, focusing on errors caused by IT systems and on so-called 'gag order or non-disclosure clauses' in vendor contracts that might prohibit the hospitals from disclosing information about system flaws." Grassley made a similar request to the IT vendors themselves last fall, and said his new letter was prompted by concern about taxpayers' investment in health IT as part of the economic stimulus (Conn, 1/20).

21 Jan 2010

Health care companies assess where they stand on health reform after election

The Wall Street Journal reports that several firms reiterated support for a health care reform bill Wednesday, a day after the overhaul's viability was called into question by the victory of Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown in Massachusetts. "PhRMA, the drug industry association, as well as companies including Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson, WellPoint Inc. and Humana Inc., voiced support for an overhaul of some kind, despite objections among insurers about the efforts to date."

21 Jan 2010

Zirmed achieves EHNAC HNAP accreditation

ZirMed®, a leading national provider of revenue cycle management solutions for healthcare providers, announced yesterday it has achieved full accreditation with the Healthcare Network Accreditation Program (HNAP) from the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC). EHNAC's HNAP accreditation recognizes excellence in health data processing and transactions, and indicates compliance with industry-established standards and HIPAA regulations.

21 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 21, 2010

Today's headlines reflect the idea that health reform stakeholders -- be it the White House, congressional Democrats or others -- are all trying to figure out how to proceed in this changed political landscape.

21 Jan 2010

FRC's statement on Massachusetts Senate election results

"President Obama's defeat yesterday is the culmination of the town halls, tea parties, and other efforts of the millions of Americans who continue speaking out against the takeover of our health care system.

21 Jan 2010

MaMayo Clinic experts available to discuss health issues and concerns related to Olympic Games

Mayo Clinic's medical experts are sources of in-depth expertise and commentary about health issues and background related to the Olympic Games and Olympians. Below is a sampling of Mayo Clinic experts available to discuss numerous topics related to the Olympic Games, including concussions, performance enhancing drugs, sports psychology, joint injuries, etc. Mayo has satellite capability for broadcast requests.

21 Jan 2010

International Medical Corps sets up mobile medical unit at epicenter of Haiti earthquake

A 6.1-magnitude aftershock hit Haiti at 6:03 am Eastern Time. All International Medical Corps staff and medical teams are unharmed and are now working to assess the damage left by the strongest aftershock since the 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti eight days ago.

21 Jan 2010

ETMC Athens effectively handles record number of H1N1 cases

Throughout the month of September, East Texas Medical Center Athens (ETMC Athens) has seen a 42% average increase in number of patients per day and is taking it in stride. Improved efficiencies in the Emergency Department facilitated by a process improvement firm, Compirion Healthcare, have allowed the hospital to absorb the volume and see an improvement in quality.

21 Jan 2010

Unpopularity of health care reform led to Republican win in Massachusetts: Hoover study

How could a little-known Republican possibly have won a competitive U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts, the bluest of blue states? A new study by a team of Hoover researchers indicates that the culprit is the unpopularity of health care reform, and it likely means that Democrats will face even greater challenges later this year in less liberal states than Massachusetts.

21 Jan 2010

Canadian Red Cross ships tents to Haiti

As large-scale Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti continue, a shipment of Canadian Red Cross tents arrived in Haiti. These tents are part of a series of expected Canadian Red Cross shipments from around the world and will temporarily shelter 1,500 people.

21 Jan 2010

Congressman Chaka Fattah comments on the Massachusetts election results

"We as Democrats respect the results of yesterday's special election in one state, Massachusetts, and will shortly welcome Senator-elect Scott Brown to Washington. In the same spirit I call upon our Republican colleagues to respect the results of the 50-state election that led to the inauguration, just one year ago today, of President Barack Obama. That 50-state election of 2008 produced overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress for the Obama program of progress, dignity and equity, especially in his advocacy for comprehensive healthcare reform.

21 Jan 2010

Engaging in incentive-based wellness program is associated with lower healthcare costs

According to a study published in the January/February issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, a peer-reviewed journal devoted to health promotion, health plan members who participated in fitness-related activities within an incentive-based health insurance wellness program had significantly lower healthcare costs.

21 Jan 2010

NABJ to hold annual conference on Health Disparities

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will hold its annual conference on Health Disparities, March 4-6, 2010 at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center at Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, D.C. The conference will provide journalists the tools to effectively report on the impact of health, health policy and health care reform on communities of color.

21 Jan 2010

HQCA supports recommended new Alberta Health Act

The Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) supports recommendations stemming from the report issued today by the Minister's Advisory Committee on Health. The report, entitled A Foundation for Alberta's Health System, recommends a new Alberta Health Act built around core principles and calls for a patient charter and strong support for evidence-based decision making.

21 Jan 2010

CARNA responds to the release of Advisory Committee on Health report

The College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) responded to the release of the report from the Minister's Advisory Committee on Health. Mary-Anne Robinson, executive director of CARNA, was a member of the committee.

21 Jan 2010

Grassley says bugs in health IT software endangering patients, other HIT news

RadioIowa reports that Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley says hospital officials around the country are seeing bugs in new health information technology software that are putting patients at risk. "'Over the last few months, concerns have been brought to my attention including administrative complications, formatting and usability issues, errors in interoperability,' Grassley says. 'Some health care providers have said the software is producing incorrect medication dosages because it miscalculated body weights by interchanging kilograms and pounds.'" Grassley is asking 32 hospitals for statements on the problem (Kelley, 1/19).

21 Jan 2010

RMC selects Allscripts EDIS to improve access to clinical information

Allscripts announced today that Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center (RMC) has selected the Allscripts Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) to automate emergency operations and improve access to clinical information.

21 Jan 2010

Twenty-five percent of Americans surveyed favor health care reform legislation

Twenty-five percent of Americans surveyed favor the health care reform legislation proposed by Congress, according to a survey just conducted by LIMRA.

21 Jan 2010