Health IT | April 2018

In a freewheeling question-and-answer session at the ACHE Congress in Chicago, Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush made some bold statements about where electronic health records are heading and why virtualization should trump other healthcare priorities.

Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against for-profit hospital giant Community Health Systems (CHS), claiming CHS unlawfully helped hospitals it was selling to continue using Microsoft software.

Blockchain has been touted—to the point of being called overhyped—as the technological breakthrough healthcare organizations need to more easily secure and store patient data. Five companies are now launching a pilot program to see if blockchain can live up to its promises by applying the technology to the common problem of inaccurate provider directories.

The promise of precision medicine is bringing together patient data and accounting for factors like genetic variability, environment and lifestyle to tailor treatment to an individual. Fulfilling that potential, according to Acxiom and LiveRamp’s global chief data ethics officer Sheila Colclasure, MA, requires using the available data ethically and gaining the trust of patients.

The broader goals of the MyHealthEData initiative announced by CMS at HIMSS18 have the support of Vice President Joe Biden, but he also criticized the Trump administration for a lack of specifics on the proposal and put blame for the lack of interoperability squarely on the healthcare industry.

The health IT market has exploded in the last five to 10 years, but since 2015, the market has shifted from initial public offerings (IPOs) to larger mergers and acquisitions as well as robust interest from venture capital—which means health IT firms need to know what will impress or turn away investors.

Easing clinician burden under the payment tracks implemented as part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) will be a priority for CMS in this year’s rulemaking, according to Kate Goodrich, MD, the agency’s chief medical officer. What won’t be changing, however, is requiring providers to meet the 2015 edition of certified electronic health record technology (CHERT) standards.

The new push for easier patient access to their health data from CMS will require some work on the part of the Office of National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), with the agency’s leaders not being shy about supporting its patient-centric goals in a briefing with reporters at HIMSS18 in Las Vegas.

Facebook had been discussing a data sharing project with hospitals and medical groups to match patient data with socioeconomic information from Facebook profiles, but CNBC reports the project has been put on hold as the social network faces scrutiny over how it collects and shares data on its users.

Chris Wlaschin, who has served as chief information security officer (CISO) at HHS since January 2017, will leave the post at the end of March amid allegations cybersecurity vendors had given gifts and privileges to lower-level government IT leaders involved with the Healthcare Cybersecurity Communications and Integration Center (HCCIC).