GE Healthcare has announced it will sell its revenue cycle, ambulatory care and workforce management software units to private equity firm Veritas Capital for $1.05 billion, following earlier plans for General Electric to sell assets and rumors the entire company could be broken up.

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 firing of David Shulkin, MD, as Veterans Affairs Secretary may threaten the $16 billion deal for Cerner to bring an electronic health records (EHR) system to the VA, according to Nextgov.

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).

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.

Implementing a new Cerner electronic health record (EHR) system through the Veterans Administration (VA) system will involve 48 “deployment waves” beginning in 2019 and ending in 2027, according to a Cerner presentation at the HIMSS18 conference in Las Vegas.