M.L. Baker

Citing lack of progress, the deputy director of the nonprofit Health Privacy Project resigned as co-chair of a federal committee charged with advising the government on privacy issues in electronic health information. In an open letter to the health IT czar, Health Privacy Project Director Janlori Goldman and Deputy Director Paul Feldman said they were […]

A health IT standards group released a new, more-comprehensive standard for electronic health records on Feb. 21. The standard, released by Health Level Seven, is the first that specifies functional requirements for electronic health-records systems to win approval from the American National Standards Institute, a key standard-setting body. Electronic health records are advocated by the […]

While more than half of private-sector health-care facilities are currently using electronic medical records, just under a fifth of state health-care facilities have adopted them. And when it comes to participating in regional health organizations, the trends are reversed. Forty-three percent of state health executives said they were involved in a RHIO, compared to only […]

What happens when professors need to exchanging large files securely? Some academics who find their e-mail inboxes too small have turned to MySpace, gmail and blogs. Thats not a good thing, especially when files might contain confidential patient information. John Halamka, CIO of Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, says he enjoys […]

A prominent health IT think tank has advocated against granting more authority to health IT personnel within the federal government, saying that such responsibility should instead fall to elected officials, or those with “direct public accountability.” The sobering words were spurred by a report by the United States Government Accountability Office that states the Department […]

Intel and the Industrial Development Agency of Ireland are teaming up to create technologies that help seniors live at home. The three-year, $30 million collaboration establishes the TRIL (Technology Research for Independent Living) Centre, where researchers from Intel and Irish universities will create devices that can keep elderly people engaged in their communities, detect and […]

A report by a leading health IT group concludes that the federal government should have more oversight over health IT. It comes just as four consortia unveiled prototype versions of a National Health Information Network. The report was written under a federal contract by the American Health Information Management Association. The four consortia are also […]

Stepping into an already crowded field of online health information, AOL co-founder Steve Case has launched a Web site designed to help patients assess doctors, solve insurance problems and find medical information. On Jan. 23, Cases Revolution Health Group issued a news release announcing that it was “working to build the online destination where you […]

The Medical Banking Project plans to announce a program later this year that will use banks Web portals to deliver personal health care information online. Advocates of online PHRs (personal health records) believe making such information more accessible will make for better-informed and healthier patients. Various groups are already investing in technology to use information […]

The next time your doctor writes you a prescription, she may reach for a mouse instead of a pen. A coalition of companies including Cisco, Dell, Google, Intel and Microsoft have banded together to let physicians write prescriptions over the Internet. In addition to warning of potential interactions between drugs, e-prescribing systems can guide doctors […]