Is Time On Your Side?
If you're anything like me, you're looking forward to the beginning of daylight savings time this month. Even though we lose an hour of sleep, the time change somehow makes it feel like there are more hours in the day. Perhaps the extra daylight combined with slightly warmer weather and the first signs of spring account for the sense of increased energy and motivation. It feels like we can shed our extra layers and address our work in a leaner, meaner fashion.
I hope you are feeling motivated to tackle all of the tasks on your desk. There's no shortage of issues affecting healthcare facilities and the CMIO's role therein, including the pros and cons of e-prescribing, interoperability challenges between clinical devices and EHR systems and best practices for finding and keeping IT talent—all topics explored within the pages of this issue.
We also take a look at a growing concern: privacy and security. Did you know that 92 percent of all healthcare institutions have experienced a data breach in the past two years? One Ponemon Institute study found that the frequency of data breaches in healthcare have increased 32 percent in the past year and cost an estimated $6.5 billion annually. Half of respondents said that their organization does nothing to protect the information contained on mobile devices even though 80 percent of providers use mobile devices that collect, store and/or transmit some form of protected health information. Forty-one percent attributed data breaches to employee mistakes.
Since most CMIOs are involved in preventing data breaches, you are probably aware if your organization has privacy and security staff separate from the IT staff. This month's cover story examines the rapid growth of the use of mobile devices and the challenges that providers have monitoring their use and keeping up with the technology.
Hopefully, your facility is working to get a handle on this security risk since HIPAA/HITECH audits have begun. Experts expect these audits to be a comprehensive look at hospitals' privacy and security efforts. If you're not fully compliant today, time is not on your side. The regulations require you to at least be working toward compliance and have the ability to prove it. Learn more about audits, breaches and mobile devices by reading the article on page 8.
Is your facility facing a HIPAA/HITECH audit? Please share your experience or other thoughts on this new challenge at bwalsh@trimedmedia.com.
I hope you are feeling motivated to tackle all of the tasks on your desk. There's no shortage of issues affecting healthcare facilities and the CMIO's role therein, including the pros and cons of e-prescribing, interoperability challenges between clinical devices and EHR systems and best practices for finding and keeping IT talent—all topics explored within the pages of this issue.
We also take a look at a growing concern: privacy and security. Did you know that 92 percent of all healthcare institutions have experienced a data breach in the past two years? One Ponemon Institute study found that the frequency of data breaches in healthcare have increased 32 percent in the past year and cost an estimated $6.5 billion annually. Half of respondents said that their organization does nothing to protect the information contained on mobile devices even though 80 percent of providers use mobile devices that collect, store and/or transmit some form of protected health information. Forty-one percent attributed data breaches to employee mistakes.
Since most CMIOs are involved in preventing data breaches, you are probably aware if your organization has privacy and security staff separate from the IT staff. This month's cover story examines the rapid growth of the use of mobile devices and the challenges that providers have monitoring their use and keeping up with the technology.
Hopefully, your facility is working to get a handle on this security risk since HIPAA/HITECH audits have begun. Experts expect these audits to be a comprehensive look at hospitals' privacy and security efforts. If you're not fully compliant today, time is not on your side. The regulations require you to at least be working toward compliance and have the ability to prove it. Learn more about audits, breaches and mobile devices by reading the article on page 8.
Is your facility facing a HIPAA/HITECH audit? Please share your experience or other thoughts on this new challenge at bwalsh@trimedmedia.com.
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.