Consumerism has been a trending topic in healthcare for several years. Some warned that the increase in consumer research could negatively affect doctor-patient relations, as patients felt empowered to challenge practitioner wisdom through their new found online knowledge. While others extolled the benefits of it, as it might force doctors to take a hard look at their off-the-shelf treatment plans and come up with better solutions for patients. Consumerism was born, but not fully baked. Fast-forward to last month, and we see consumerism expanding in healthcare quickly. Geisinger announces refunds for unsatisfied customers! It's shocking! It's alarming! It's… nothing new, especially if you've been living in the world of the consumer.
The report from the Office of Inspector General did not disclose the names of the health plans for security reasons, but outlined 74 flaws and vulnerable areas in their information systems that need to be addressed, including data stored on flash drives and other devices that were not encrypted.
An audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on three Medi-Cal health plan information systems found dozens of security problems that could potentially put patient data at risk.
The report from the Office of Inspector General did not disclose the names of the health plans for security reasons but outlined 74 flaws and vulnerable areas in their information systems that need to be addressed.
"We identified 74 high-risk security vulnerabilities in the information system general controls at three California Medi-Cal managed care organizations we reviewed," the report stated. The problems included data stored on flash drives and other devices that were not encrypted, anti-virus systems and software that were outdated, and passwords that were still active for workers no longer employed by the managed care plans.
The state Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) said it reviewed the study and is working with the health plans on corrective actions. "We have begun working with all three plans to correct the issues," said DHCS spokesperson Tony Cava. "At least one of these plans has already completed corrective work. DHCS expects to receive regular updates on the plans' progress toward fixing these vulnerabilities."
California providers have experienced a number of data breaches and suspected breaches in 2015. In early December, Cottage Health announced that the health data of nearly 11,000 patients may have been compromised. The problem was discovered when an outside security contractor was testing Cottage Health's information technology data systems and discovered that a server had been breached.
In a statement issued on its website, the Santa Barbara-based health system said a single server "was exposed between Oct. 26 and Nov. 8, 2015. Our investigation revealed that limited information of approximately 11,000 Cottage Health patients was exposed." The data that may have been breached included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and "limited medical information such as diagnosis and procedure." Cottage Health is offering free identity theft protection to patients affected by the breach.
In July, UCLA Health System reported the potential breach of more than 4.5 million patient records. UCLA officials said they detected unusual activity on one of UCLA's computer servers and began investigating with help from the FBI. UCLA said there is currently no evidence that any data on the server was breached. Information on the server included patient names, Social Security numbers, and patient diagnoses and procedures.
You may have noticed it isn't just you and the doctor in the exam room anymore. Computers, laptops and tablets are increasingly occupying your physician's attention as more medical practices record their patients' data electronically rather than on paper. This has changed the dynamics between some doctors and patients and created new communication challenges, research shows. A study in JAMA Internal Medicine in November found that patients rated the care they received lower when doctors looked at a computer screen a lot during patient examinations. And researchers at Northwestern University discovered that doctors using electronic health records spent about a third of patient visits looking at a screen. [Subscription Required]
Brigham and Women's Hospital has posted its first budget shortfall in over 15 years, hospital president Dr. Betsy Nabel announced at a recent town hall-style meeting. To blame, in part, was the expense of switching to new electronic health records, a cost that has led to overruns at a number of hospitals in recent years. The hospital fell $53 million short of its budget in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, in large part due to unexpected costs associated with switching to electronic health records in June, according to hospital spokeswoman Erin McDonough.
Most Boston hospitals offer 3-D mammograms routinely to all women, saying the new technology saves more lives than traditional mammograms. But a major insurance company is telling customers it won't pay for the more advanced screenings. "I think it would be a step backwards in both technology and standard of care," said Newton-Wellesley Hospital Dr. Michael Misialek. Misialek can't imagine relying on 2-D mammograms, especially now that he's seen what 3-D images can catch. "It's very similar to a CAT scan in the sense that multiple slices or images of the breast are taken and individually can be looked at versus just one flat image," Misialek said.
MaineGeneral Health suffered a cyberattack on its computer network last month that compromised personal information belonging to patients, employees and prospective donors, the health system announced Tuesday. While investigation into the breach continues, patients referred to MaineGeneral Medical Center for radiology services, such as MRIs and CT scans, over the last several years appear to be at the highest risk. Data identified as potentially compromised by the Federal Bureau of Investigations include dates of birth and emergency contact names, addresses and telephone numbers for patients referred by treating physicians to the hospital for those services since June 2009.