Hackers last week broke into a Virginia state Web site used by pharmacists to track prescription drug abuse. They deleted records on more than 8 million patients and replaced the site's homepage with a ransom note demanding $10 million for the return of the records, according to a posting on Wikileaks.org, an online clearinghouse for leaked documents.
Ingenix has announced that Sutter Connect, a Sutter Health affiliate and healthcare management and administrative services company, has signed a five-year contract for Ingenix Impact Intelligence and services from Ingenix Consulting. Through the agreement, Sutter Connect will offer physicians in the Sutter Medical Network access to performance metrics and services they can use to measure and improve medical care and delivery, according to a release.
IBM Global Financing is adding a $2 billion financing component to help providers finance health IT initiatives tied to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Armonk, NY-based company said that the move will help "U.S. organizations move ahead with IT projects that could improve their infrastructure or competitive edge and point them in the direction of economic recovery."
A computer worm that has alarmed security experts around the world has crawled into hundreds of medical devices at dozens of hospitals in the United States and other countries, according to technologists. The worm, known as "Conficker," has not harmed any patients, they say, but it poses a potential threat to hospital operations.
The Karnataka High Court in India has forced an end to the four-day-old, statewide strike by junior doctors. The court had called for severe action against the doctors, including suspension or cancellation of certificates. The junior doctors returned to work, but wore black armbands as a mark of their continuing protest. The doctors claimed that the withdrawal was a "temporary suspension" and they would resume the strike if government fails to address their problems.
Every year, rich Indonesians spend far more than $1 billion for their medical expenses overseas, according to the research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan. The findings means a big potential loss for the domestic healthcare business, said Frost and Sullivan representatives. The figures confirm earlier statements by Fahmi Idris, chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association, that suggested at least 1 million Indonesians every year go abroad seeking health services and spend well over $1 billion.