Concerns over money pervade healthcare

In the wake of the government shut down and potential debt-ceiling crisis, money is on everyone’s mind. At CHIME last week it was evident that it’s a topic consuming the thoughts of many CIOs.

This week, we posted an article featuring some of the more candid statements by previous National Coordinator for Health IT, Farzad Mostashari, about budget issues. However, Mostashari wasn’t the only one expressing concerns over financial issues, Fierce Health IT covered many of the monetary concerns expressed at CHIME.

Hospital CIOs hamstrung by small budgets, legalities, and technology shortfalls

State CIOs in hospitals face a tough challenge, the implementation of enterprise technologies in spite of conflicting legal issues and archaic processes. This was revealed in an article on Healthcare IT News that discusses the results of a survey by the National Association of State CIOs. According to the survey, about half of the state CIOs surveyed indicated that their states’ current legal frameworks are not conducive to using cloud solutions. This appears to be one of many hurdles CIOs encounter. Read more on the results, here.

Federal cyber security professionals feel vulnerable to cyber threats

With more information stored electronically, comes an increase in security breaches. In a recent survey, cyber security specialists express concerns regarding cyber attacks. Half of cyber security professionals indicated that their agency was likely to be a victim of a denial-of-service attack in the next 12 months. An article on Healthcare Informatics discusses the need for an increased focus on the user-experience in order to mitigate risks of attack.

Providers offer tips for coordinating agreements with business associates

Under the new Omnibus HIPAA rule, business associates have increased responsibility which will likely impact how agreements are made between providers, business associates, and subcontractors. Now that business associates are held liable for data breaches, providers might be more likely to use outside vendors for the storage of data in the cloud. However, this means new considerations for contracts. Healthcare IT News addresses some of the considerations and tactics for coordination with business associates in an article published this week.