Risk Management
The hospital-acquired infections prevention market in the United States is expected to grow 7 percent annually until 2020, according to a new report by by research-based management consulting firm Pharmaion, driven by increases in infections and chronic diseases among the aging population.
Don Goldmann, chief medical and scientific officer for Institute of Healthcare Improvement, thinks the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services needs to change its methodology for ranking providers by their number of hospital-acquired infections as many respected hospitals are seeing payment reductions in the program.
In 2013, the electronic protected health information of about 90,000 individuals was accessed after an employee downloaded an email attachment that contained malicious malware.
As patients face high deductibles, price is a major topic that's put pressure on healthcare providers to offer price transparency, even though what a hospital charges can be far different from what a patient actually owes after their insurance covers some of the costs.
Technology and connectivity will continue its steady infiltration of the healthcare landscape, branding and trust take priority over convenience, and the advancement and integration of connected health technologies will hinge on cybersecurity in 2016, PwC said.
The boundary between being a provider and a payer is blurring as hospitals face more risk, according to Joe Nichols of Health Data Consulting, prompting health systems to make changes to keep from losing too much money.
Triple-S Management Corporation has agreed to settle potential HIPAA violations with the U.S. Department of Health and Human services to the tune of $3.5 million, after repeatedly failing to put safeguards in place for its beneficiaries' PHI.
Since 1993, 11 people have been killed in abortion-related attacks -- doctors, clinic staff, and last week, a police officer and two visitors in the line of fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. While the investigation continues into the shooter's background and motives, David Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University, says that stalking and harassment pose a much more common threat to abortion providers and their families.
From 2010 to 2014, there's been 2.1 million fewer hospital-acquired conditions; 87,000 fewer hospital-acquired condition related deaths; and $19.8 billion in costs have been averted, according to CMS Deputy Director Patrick Conway.
Moody's Investor Services will start factoring a healthcare providers' cybersecurity strength into their credit ratings, the agency said this week, as hackers continue to infiltrate the sector.