The frequency, severity and impact of data breaches are escalating with the looming threats of organized crime, corporate espionage and cyberterrorism, according to a report from ID Experts, an Ore.-based security company.

Houston, Texas, July 31, 2013 -- Seeking to improve coordination and quality of care, Quest Diagnostics is working with Greater Houston Healthconnect to make laboratory results and records available quickly in electronic format to all connected providers in the region. This will enable practitioners caring for the patient, including the original provider who ordered the test and follow-up caregivers, access to lab values. This will in some cases allow providers to better diagnose, treat, and possibly reduce the need for secondary tests. This is especially helpful for patients who see multiple specialists or are making transitions of care between facilities. Physicians will also be able to order their lab tests and receive results directly into their EMR system through this partnership. Quest Diagnostics is the first major reference lab to collaborate with the region’s health information network, which serves 20 counties.

Michigan-based Henry Ford Health System is notifying 15,417 patients of the possible compromise of their health information after old x-ray films were stolen from a storage warehouse before the films could be destroyed.

Little Rock, AR, July 30, 2013 -- The Arkansas Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) has partnered with Get Real Health and negotiated a new pricing model to provide Get Real Health’s award-winning patient portal and personal health record (PHR) to Arkansas healthcare providers that participate in the statewide health information exchange (HIE) known as SHARE (State Health Alliance for Records Exchange). The decision makes it easy for Arkansas healthcare organizations of all sizes to meet key patient engagement criteria for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program “Meaningful Use” Stage 2 mandates.

DENVER, July 24, 2013 -- CORHIO, the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, and Craig Hospital announced today that the specialty hospital is now participating in CORHIO's secure health information exchange (HIE) network. Denver-based Craig Hospital is world-renowned as a premier center for specialty rehabilitation for people with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. Through the HIE connection, patients who are being transferred from another participating Colorado acute care hospital to Craig Hospital will have smoother transitions and be at lower risk for complications, because the details of their electronic medical records will immediately follow them as they transition facilities.

Meaningful Use (MU) takes yet another hit from organizations seeking to reduce the burden of the program. The American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association, calling MU requirements "overly burdensome," make four recommendations to improve the program for providers in a letter sent to Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 25, 2013 -- drchrono, creator of the original Electronic Health Record (EHR) iPad app, announced today that they have been ranked the top EHR for iPad by physicians in Black Book Ranking's 2013 survey and that they would be making the full survey findings available for free to physicians. Black Book, one of the largest independent technology services and market opinion research companies with a dedicated healthcare division, ranked drchrono the top EHR for the iPad based on a survey of 485 EHR vendors used by 16,623 physicians in the United States.

The past month has included much debate about the Meaningful Use program and whether a pause is warranted, and, just this week the CommonWell Alliance finally shared its plans to drive EHR interoperability.