Various organizations are working on an ongoing basis to improve the privacy and security of patient information flowing across the healthcare system. Even as those efforts continue, information exchange is driving improvements in patient outcomes and lowered costs.

The Texas Health Services Authority and the Health Information Trust Alliance announced a partnership to develop and implement the Texas Covered Entity Privacy and Security Certification Program, according to a joint announcement.

Carson Health, a recognized leader of information technology in a rural hospital setting, has connected with the Great Lakes Health Information Exchange (GLHIE) enabling providers and their healthcare team to share medical information both within and outside the Carson City community.

An employee of an Iowa health system's third-party contractor gained unauthorized access to patient records, impacting 1,800 patients.

With healthcare providers under continuing pressure to provide better care at lower costs, remote cardiac monitoring devices are becoming popular and valuable patient care tools, fueling U.S. market growth expected to top more than 25 percent between 2011 and 2016.[1]  The devices enable cardiologists to monitor patients for extended periods of time outside the costly hospital environment, improving their ability to identify problems and provide early intervention that can support better outcomes and reduce the need for expensive future care.

A stolen laptop is the source of a breach impacting 629 patients. 

Emergency department (ED) physicians spend significantly more time entering data into EMRs than on any other activity, including direct patient care, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

While EHR adoption is on the upswing, patient education does not appear to be keeping pace. Only 29 percent of U.S. adults with doctors have been informed that their medical records will be converted to digital format, according to a recent online survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Xerox.