In September 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced more than $262 million in funding for a first-of-its-kind national network, the Outbreak Analytics and Disease Modeling Network.  The goal, according to the agency, was to “support state and local decision-makers in developing and implementing new tools to detect, respond to, and mitigate

The American Hospital Association says the newly released U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ healthcare sector cybersecurity strategy paper, which outlines the agency’s “ongoing and planned steps to improve cyber resiliency and protect patient safety,” would have counterproductive consequences on hospitals after cyberattacks. WHY IT MATTERS In its strategy paper, HHS calls for new

Hills Health recruits former NSW Health digital director Andrew Pedrazzini OAM has been appointed as the new chief digital officer of hospital and aged care technology provider Hills Health.  He will also serve as the company’s executive director of Strategy, Products and Partners. Pedrazzini was involved in the digital transformation of NSW Health; he served as

The Office of the National Coordinator for Healthcare Technology has completed its final health IT certification rules and the U.S. Health and Human Services Agency has sent the document to the Office of the Federal Register for publication. The Health Information Management Systems Society and Electronic Health Record Association weighed in with initial thoughts on

“Forward-thinking provider organizations will … augment their EHRs through fully integrated, consumer-friendly tools that help reduce call volume and alleviate repetitive, manual workflows.” “There is a renewed and intensified focus on economics, efficiencies and automation, and a cautious approach to limited application of AI to leverage less skilled and tedious tasks such as medical scribing.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that eHealth Exchange, Epic Nexus, Health Gorilla, KONZA and MedAllies can immediately begin exchanging data under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement’s policies and technical requirements. WHY IT MATTERS Nationwide health data exchange governed by TEFCA is now operational. As a result, patients will have increased

Telemedicine took a huge leap forward during the pandemic as more providers and patients embraced remote delivery of healthcare services. Today, artificial intelligence-powered telemedicine tools that remotely diagnose patients and route them to the proper care setting have begun popping up; they are designed to increase access to healthcare services and assist providers in making

More than a third of top Australian hospitals have been found to lack basic cybersecurity protocols to protect themselves from email fraud and domain spoofing.  FINDINGS In October, United States-based cybersecurity company Proofpoint made a Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) analysis of 70 public and private hospitals around Australia.  DMARC is an email

South Korea expands telemedicine pilot  Starting 15 December, the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare will be introducing additional measures to its national telemedicine pilot. According to a media statement, the programme is now allowing the conduct of telemedicine services at night and on holidays.  Patients who have had face-to-face treatment within the past

Queensland Health to turn digital for rostering Queensland Health has announced that it will implement an electronic rostering system for its nursing and midwifery workforce by late 2024.  The move is part of initiatives that it is taking in response to the yearly recommendations by the Queensland Audit Office. The state health department is known to manage