News From Around the Web
> Individuals do not have the right to sue healthcare providers under HIPAA simply because their personal information was compromised, a federal judge ruled recently in a suit against health technology vendor Omnicell, McKnight's Long-Term Care News & Assisted Living reported. The plaintiff argued that her and her daughter's personal data had been stored on a laptop stolen from an Omnicell employee in 2012, and that she suffered injury as a result of the theft. Article
> A billionaire will donate $125 million to a South Dakota health system to boost the use of genomics, according to the News Observer. Kelby Krabbenhoft, the system's chief executive officer, said internal medicine is at the crossroads of all aspects of healthcare, and that combining it with genetics is "the perfect marriage." "This is going to have a huge impact in our part of the country," Krabbenhoft said during an announcement in Sioux Falls. Article
> A global stroke repository enables regional comparisons to improve treatment, according to an announcement. Data was compiled by building an extensive literature review with a major focus on published systematic reviews on stroke incidence, and by collating data from the World Health Organization, according to an announcement. "We aim to provide a repository of the most current incidence and mortality data on stroke available by country and to illustrate the gaps in these data," said Amanda Thrift, M.D. of Monash University, who participated in the project. "We plan to update this repository annually and to expand the scope to address other aspects of the burden of strokes." Announcement
Health Finance News
> Lawyers for a Sumter, S.C., hospital slapped with a $237.5 million federal judgment in a Medicare fraud case in October say the hospital may close if it is forced to pay the entire amount. Article
> Fremont, Calif.-based Washington Hospital Healthcare System reimbursed its CEO for more than $20,000 in charitable contributions over the past three years, including at least $11,000 to the Washington Hospital Healthcare Foundation. Although Washington Hospital said CEO Nancy Farber was contractually due the reimbursements, spokesman Christopher Brown said that Farber would refund some of the reimbursements to avoid being "misunderstood and misconstrued." Article
Provider News
> Pressure to appear compassionate and caring around the clock is leading to emotional exhaustion in nurses and midwives, new research from the United Kingdom revealed. Article
And Finally... You know it's too cold when people would rather be in jail than outside. Article