New epidemic fears: Hackers

Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2009

Under the Obama administration's stimulus bill and other proposals, portions of a $29 billion fund are available to reimburse hospitals and doctors' offices that invest in electronic records systems and other software that might improve care and lower healthcare costs. The government has stressed the need for increased security as part of this digitization initiative, but making patient data more accessible also creates the potential of it falling into the wrong hands.