Kansas Heart Hospital in Witchita was hit with ransomware last week. The ransomware attack occurred on Wednesday and the KWCH 12 news video from Friday night said some files were still inaccessible by the hospital. Hospital president Dr. Greg Duick refused to disclose the ransom amount and the ransomware variant; he said, “I'm not at liberty because it's an ongoing investigation, to say the actual exact amount. A small amount was made.”
Reba Golden hurt her back after falling two floors while building an addition to her house, but following a routine spinal surgery, she suffered blood clots, severe bleeding and died in 2007 on the operating table. She died after her doctor injected bone cement into her spine and some of the material leaked into her blood stream, causing clotting. She and other patients were never told Norian bone cement wasn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Instead, Norian and parent company Synthes used surgeons in what one doctor called “human experimentation.” Federal prosecutors say the aim was to skirt a long, costly regulatory process.
Sharp Grossmont Hospital has apologized for releasing 14 video clips that included women undergoing obstetric surgery, an error it said constituted a breach of their medical privacy and has led to state and federal agency notification. "We are very sorry that this error occurred and that the privacy of these patients was breached," the Sharp Grossmont statement said. The hospital mistakenly released the clips to an attorney representing a doctor the hospital said is seen in the videos taking bottles of sedatives from surgery carts and putting them in his pocket.
American Well, the company behind Anthem’s service, is betting that people would rather choose the doctors or nurses they consult with online, much as they select an urgent care center or a specialist. On Tuesday, American Well, which offers telehealth to more than 100 million people, is unveiling an online marketplace where health plan customers will be able to choose from a menu of doctors. [Registration required.]
To see the explosive rise of proton-beam therapy, an expensive and controversial cancer treatment, look to the billboards of Belgium. Ion Beam Applications SA, the Belgian company that leads the global market for huge proton-beam machines, is selling so many systems lately that it needs to boost its 1,200-strong workforce by 400 workers. It launched a big recruitment drive across the country this year, featuring radio and newspaper spots along with dozens of billboards and posters. [Registration required.]
Google and Apple Inc. have some bright ideas about the future of health care. Not so long ago, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. had similar ideas: a networked world of devices and services that would revolutionize how medicine is practiced in the U.S. and, in the process, tap into a huge new vein of business. So far, it hasn’t worked out that way for the telecom companies.