Industry Insight

Survey Finds One in Five Health Care Professionals Have Experienced Patient Data Breaches

According to a recent University of Phoenix College of Health Professions online survey of 504 registered nurses and administrative staff, only one-quarter of registered nurses (RNs) have seen changes in the way their companies handle data security and patient privacy over the past year despite increased data breaches across all industries. The survey found that 20% of RNs and 19% of administrative staff indicated that their facilities have experienced a breach of private patient data.

However, there appears to be a disconnect between breaches and level of confidence, with 48% of RNs and 57% of administrative staff noting they are “very confident” in their facility’s ability to protect patient data against potential theft. When asked where they have seen the most changes occur in the industry over the last year, including quality of care, safety, digital health records and prevention and population health, only 25% of RNs and 40% of administrative staff cite data security and privacy.

“Patient safety is not just about physical and emotional well-being and protection; it also includes electronic records. In our increasingly digital world, it is critical for health care professionals at every level to prevent data breaches,” says Doris Savron, executive dean for the Colleges of Health Professions at University of Phoenix. “Everyone in the health care industry must work together to establish protocols and implement training to secure and protect all patient data to reduce the risk of being compromised.”

The health care industry continues to be one of the highest targeted by cybercriminals, due to its heavy reliance on technology and vast amount of available patient data. The Identity Theft Resource Center notes that, as of November 2017, there have been nearly 5 million data breaches in the medical/health care industry. According to IBM’s 2017 Cost of Data Breach Study, health care is the most costly industry for data breaches, with organizations spending an average of $380 per impacted record, costing the industry approximately $1.9 billion.

“Health care organizations are extremely susceptible to human error. If one employee accidently invites malicious malware into a system, the impact can be catastrophic. To limit the amount of breaches, cybersecurity governance must improve,” says Dennis Bonilla, executive dean for the College of Information Systems and Technology at University of Phoenix. “Without improved training and robust cybersecurity response plans incorporated into information technology strategies, the health care industry will continue to bear the brunt of these attacks.”

Nurses and staff administrators agree, with 23% of RNs and 34% of administrative staff stating that additional support and training is needed for health care privacy and security. Current steps being taken to ensure the protection of patient data include the following:

• updated privacy and access policies (according to 67% of RNs and 69% of administrative staff);
• role-based access (according to 59% of RNs and 60% of administrative staff); and
• data surveillance (according to 56% of RNs and 55% of administrative staff).

For full survey information and an infographic, visit www.phoenix.edu/about_us/media-center/news/uopx-survey-finds-one-in-five-healthcare-professionals-have-experienced-patient-data-breaches.html.

— Source: University of Phoenix

MEDITECH Announces Collaboration With Arcadia Healthcare Solutions

MEDITECH, an EHR vendor, is pleased to announce a collaboration with Arcadia Healthcare Solutions to integrate aggregated data into MEDITECH's Web EHR and Analytics solution for improved population health management. This collaboration is a major step forward in the blend of MEDITECH's enterprise clinical database, which spans the health care continuum, with claims data, other-vendor EHR data, and additional Arcadia-derived elements.

MEDITECH chose Arcadia based on its leadership position as a population health management technology company serving provider groups, hospital systems, and health plans across the country. Arcadia has extensive experience aggregating data from more than 40 EHR vendors and various claims databases, giving providers a comprehensive picture of patient care delivered in and out of the network. Through its sophisticated approach to driving the quality necessary to earn provider trust, data from Arcadia will help MEDITECH customers improve care delivery and financial viability as the shift to value-based reimbursement becomes a reality.

Arcadia-supplied data elements will be sophisticatedly embedded into care delivery workflows within the MEDITECH Web EHR to actively improve care by arming clinicians with the complete picture of patient risk and utilization, a level of integration not commonly seen within the industry. These data elements will also provide powerful analytic insights to understand the construct and risk stratification of the patient population, utilization of resources, costs, and related impact on achieving quality outcomes. This will translate into more effective decisions at the point of care and a greater capability to proactively manage disease and promote wellness.

— Source: MEDITECH

Meet the 2018 Most Influential Women in HIT Awardees

This year, out of more than 100 worthy applications received, the judges chose four outstanding awardees of HIMSS’s Most Influential Women in Health IT. Each, in her own right, exemplifies the intent of the award, including the following:

• ongoing commitment to harnessing the power of information and technology to positively transform health and health care;
• active leadership in support of strategic initiatives of her organization;
• advancing the best use of information and technology within communities and health settings;
• thinking outside of the box; and,
• serving as a mentor to the next generation.

Ann O’Brien
Ann O’Brien is a recognized thought leader in nursing informatics and clinical transformation. As senior director of clinical informatics at Kaiser Permanente, O’Brien is focused on collaborating with clinical and IT leaders on intelligent standardization and strategic optimization resulting in improvements in quality outcomes and clinician efficiency.

Designated by Modern Healthcare as a Top 25 Clinical Informaticist, O’Brien is a tireless champion of nurses, mentoring many emerging clinical informaticists. She also partnered with the VA on the development of a Nursing Information Model Process, participates in the Nursing Knowledge Big Data Science Collaborative with a strong commitment for transforming nursing documentation, and served on the National Quality Forum’s Patient Safety Steering Committee.

O’Brien is a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow and a Fellow at HIMSS. Her passion is leveraging predictive analytics and interprofessional teaming to achieve evidence-based, personalized care across the continuum.

Judy Murphy
Judy Murphy is chief nursing officer (CNO) at IBM Global Healthcare, and a member of IBM’s Industry Academy. She has a longstanding reputation of patient advocacy and maintaining a patient-centric point of view, and approaches her work with unyielding energy as well as passion and commitment to the health care transformation enabled by technology.

Murphy previously served as CNO and deputy national coordinator for programs and policy at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. She also participated in the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, Health IT Policy Committee, and Health IT Standards Committee.

Murphy is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, American College of Medical Informatics, and HIMSS. She’s been a high-profile mentor for many, encouraging and supporting women throughout her career.

Jessica Kahn
As an active member of the women’s community, Jessica Kahn has been recognized for her national leadership, willingness to collaborate, and steadfast support for HIT adoption across the country. She was recently recognized by Fierce Healthcare as one of eight influential women in HIT and one of the top 25 “Doers, Dreamers and Drivers” by the Journal of Government Technology, as an innovator in the public sector.

As the director for Medicaid’s Data and Systems Group, Kahn oversaw approximately $5 billion in annual federal spending for state Medicaid IT and data projects. Through her leadership of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, more than 202,000 providers received $12 billion-plus in incentive payments to adopt, implement, upgrade, and meaningfully use federally certified EHR systems, as of July 2017. Recently, the US Public Health Commissioned Corps honored Kahn as the first speaker in a new series focused on the 400-plus women in the Corps, in which she shared tips and lessons learned as a female health care executive.

Vice Admiral Raquel C. Bono
Since her appointment to lead the Defense Health Agency, Vice Admiral Raquel C. Bono has spearheaded a number of strategic HIT initiatives for the Military Health System, initiatives that are ensuring the readiness of 1.4 million military forces worldwide.

These efforts also improve the quality and safety of health care delivery to the Military Health System’s 9.4 million beneficiaries, increase the ability of patients to manage their own health care, and create a comprehensive HIT infrastructure that provides a safe, secure, and reliable backbone for both military and private sector health care delivery around the world.

Bono is also singularly responsible for a number of enterprise-shared services, one of which is HIT, delivered across the Army, Navy, and Air Force; Geographic Combatant Commands (Europe, Middle East, Africa, Pacific Region, South and Latin America, and the North American region); and specific functional commands leading nuclear forces, special operations, transportation, and cybersecurity.

During her tenure as US Pacific Command Surgeon, she applied United National Security Council Resolution 1325 and the United States’ global leadership in advancing the Women, Peace, and Security initiative across relevant command engagements. This activity showcased the unique and model role the US military plays in elevating the status of adult and adolescent females worldwide, and especially in conflict areas.

O’Brien, Murphy, Kahn, and Bono will be honored at HIMSS18 during the Women’s Reception and Awards Gala.

— Source: HIMSS