Health data privacy remains a key factor in slower U.S. adoption of EHRs

A newly released paper by four academic researchers comparing electronic health record adoption in the United States and European Union concludes that concerns over privacy of health record data remain the key obstacle to broader EHR…

Despite emphasis on risk analysis, health IT security won’t change much under meaningful use

With all the talk about the need for effective security measures to protect personal health data stored in electronic health records and shared among organizations participating in health information exchanges, the decision of what actual security…

Public trust in health IT as a case study in system trust

In a typically insightful blog post last weekend, Margalit Gur-Arie considers issues of trust in electronic health records and other health information technology through a comparison with the banking system, financial institutions, and the use of…

Health IT policy intensifies focus on consent

While there were several informative presentations and topics addressed at the monthly meeting of the Health IT Policy Committee today, the recommendations from the Privacy and Security Tiger Team on adoption of fair information practices and,…

Consensus exists on importance of security and privacy in health IT; some offer rosy view on current state of technology

With all the focus over the last few weeks in the government health community on the publication of numerous proposed and final rules related to provisions in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health…

Small but significant changes in meaningful use rules simplify compliance

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the release of final versions of its rule on meaningful use and its electronic health record (EHR) incentive program and associated health IT standards and certification…

Clearer definitions and roles for intermediaries would facilitate policy decisions on directed exchange of health data

During the latest meeting of the Health IT Privacy and Security tiger team today, the bulk of the discussion centered around draft recommendations for message handling in what the group calls “directed exchange” in which health…