HIMSS pushes for cybersecurity in FDA pre-cert program
HIMSS’ senior leadership outlined its support for the FDA’s software precertification program while emphasizing the need to incorporate cybersecurity into the evaluation process.
In a letter to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., HIMSS Board Chair Denise Hines and President and CEO Hal Wolf urged the agency to take a “holistic approach” in assessing cybersecurity as part of each device manufacturer’s culture of excellence.
“Even low-risk products can be compromised and misused in ways that elevate their overall risk,” the HIMSS officials wrote. “Strong security requires more than just the implementation of certain features in a particular product and begins with product conception and design and continues through surveillance and updates once a product is delivered to the end-user.”
The pair added that a two-tier review system “has the potential to offer market incumbent companies an unfair advantage” by using a streamlined review process that isn’t available to a less-experienced competitor. (Letter)
JAMIA study shows intra-system data exchange lags
As the healthcare industry focuses on the ability to share information between hospitals, a new study indicates data sharing across a single health system is progressing slightly faster.
Researchers with Indiana University’s Regenstrief Institute found that hospitals within a health system could share 4.6 types of information with providers in their own system but just 2.7 types of information with other providers.
“Consistent with the U.S. goals for more widely accessible patient information, hospitals’ ability to share information has increased over time,” researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. “However, hospitals are prioritizing within-organizational information exchange over exchange between different organizations.” (Study)
Karen DeSalvo joins OpenNotes advisory board
Former National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo, M.D., is making the rounds. After being tapped by the Government Accountability Office to join MedPAC, DeSalvo has been added to the OpenNotes advisory board.
“Almost 30 years ago I was introduced to the idea of open notes when I was a medical student and tried to practice with that in mind,” said DeSalvo, now a professor of medicine and population health at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. “I am excited about working with the OpenNotes team and leveraging this framework to spread meaningful consumer partnerships.” (Release)