Half-year in review: MU, mobile health, security

Today’s news is a compilation of the most read articles of the first six months of 2013 and those articles I found to be the most interesting and influential.

It’s not particularly surprising that the EHR market has grown to more than $20 billion but those are the kind of numbers that drive other developments, such as the FCC creating a director of healthcare initiatives position, the creation of the CommonWell Alliance and the announcement of the EHR code of conduct.

Not surprisingly, Meaningful Use was in the news quite a bit so far this year. Two EHR products lost their certification and a group of Republican senators called for a reboot of the program.

Meanwhile, there were numerous data breaches we’ve covered this year I chose not to include. I think a certain amount of these breaches, whether caused by accidental disclosure or theft or other malicious activity, will happen no matter what. But, the FDA issued a warning on cybersecurity of medical devices which might prompt greater privacy and security scrutiny among healthcare providers. And, FDA guidance on mobile health apps have been on hold for two years now. Several federal hearings hearings this year have called for the agency to clarify their oversight.

Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, national coordinator for health IT, has made the rounds, defending the Meaningful Use program from critics and spreading the word on how information technology is achieving the triple aim—better quality of care, improved outcomes and cost savings.

What developments have affected you and your organization this year? Please share your experiences.

Beth Walsh

Clinical Innovation + Technology editor