HealthLeaders Media IT - July 31, 2007 | Too Much Shtick-o in 'Sicko' Add news.editor@healthleadersmedia.com to your address book. View as a Webpage | Subscribe for Free

Too Much Shtick-o in 'Sicko' Gary Baldwin, Technology Editor Sicko, populist film director Michael Moore's take on the illnesses of our employer-based insurance system, does a fine job of documenting of how ordinary people can suffer--both from bureaucratic obstacles and heartless health insurance bean counters who deny treatment. Only the heartless among us can not be moved by these tales and Moore should be congratulated for capturing them. But move beyond these stories--as gripping as they are--and consider the film's main message, that government-sponsored universal health insurance is a healthcare panacea. At this juncture, the film begins to wobble like its rotund director. [Read More]

July 31, 2007

Editor's Picks Data lapse involved 51,000 St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital said about 51,000 patients' personal information--names, addresses and Social Security numbers--was inadvertently made available on the Internet in the spring because of a security lapse by a subcontractor. There have been several similar stories this year (see next story below), a reminder of the high-profile nature of electronic breaches. Of course, breaches of paper charts are all but impossible to detect. [Read More] Park Nicollet gets tough on snooping in patient files More than 100 employees at the Minnesota-based Park Nicollet Clinic have been suspended this year for violating federal laws on patient privacy--mostly by tapping into electronic records of relatives or friends. Kudos to the hospital for being so forthright about this issue. It reinforces the notion that EMRs, while vulnerable, have ways of detecting inappropriate record access. [Read More] Health experts: E-health records privacy rules needed Finally, this Washington Post articles lays out reasons that the fabled HIPAA legislation is not enough when it comes to patient privacy. But as the two stories above show, privacy violations can be the result of both inadvertent mistakes and human nature. How many healthcare workers have taken a peek at a family member's chart--or the chart of the local celebrity--sometime in their careers? [Read More] Hospitals going high-tech Here's an overview in the Philadelphia Inquirer about how hospitals are turning to IT to streamline operations. [Read More] Tech Headlines The promise of connected health Digital HealthCare & Productivity - July 31, 2007 Robot added to Latrobe hospital staff Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - July 31, 2007 Man to leave hospital with heart device AP/Yahoo News - July 31, 2007 Health groups call on FDA to label toxic medical devices HealthLeaders News Brief - July 31, 2007 Events & Product News Software firm Picis to cut $155m deal to fund buyout Parkland Hospital deploys patient kiosk in the ER Lovelace Health signs with MRO Arizona Pediatric Eye Specialists picks Sage From HealthLeaders Magazine Challenge in Carolina Safety-net provider. Teaching institution. Testing ground for new technology. UNC Health Care is all of these things-welcome to life as an academic medical center.[Read More] Built for the Long Haul? Send Us Your Patients Dirty Delays, Oppressive Overruns      Qualify for a FREE Subscription IT Leaders Forum Managing Your Data for Privacy and Security Purposes The explosion of personal digital data calls for scrutiny, says contributor Scott Schumacher. [Read More] A Healthier Dose of Data Storage: A Healthcare Industry Primer Data storage is a perplexing issue in the digital age, says contributor Chris Miller. [Read More] Audio Feature Hospital Uses Blueberry Juice During MRCPs: Wayne Patola, Leader, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, discusses how the facility uses blueberry juice as part of Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography exams. Sponsor HealthLeaders Media IT Contact Lisa Brown, Director of Integrated Sales, at lbrown@healthleadersmedia.com or call 781.639.1872.

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