In recent years, as medical devices have become more connected, cybersecurity experts have sounded the alarm on their vulnerabilities.
A panel at Health Journalism 2018 covered the topic, with experts encouraging reporters to ask their local hospitals about plans to safeguard medical devices from cyber threats. Continue reading
Health Journalism 2020, the annual conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists, will take place in Austin, Texas, AHCJ has announced.
The conference, which draws attendees from across the United States and several other countries, is slated for April 30-May 3, 2020, at the JW Marriott in downtown Austin. Local sponsors include the University of Texas Dell Medical School, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and the St. David’s Foundation.
Photo: HP Samsung Terbaru via Flickr
Nearly half of consumers believe their personal health information is more secure on their personal electronic devices – smartphones, laptops and tablets – than it is on their health care providers’ computer systems.
This high level of mistrust in health entities’ handling of personal data is among the findings of a recent survey of 1,000 consumers by the cybersecurity firm Morphisec. Benjamin Harris of HealthcareITNews reported on the survey. Continue reading
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided AHCJ with the email addresses and phone numbers of three key media officers, a move that a top official said she hoped would foster “a better working relationship” with reporters.
Michelle E. Bonds, director of the Division of Public Affairs at the CDC, provided the contact information after AHCJ’s Right to Know Committee described members’ difficulties getting answers from the CDC. Continue reading
The Federal Communications Commission will vote on July 10 to advance a $100 million telehealth initiative to boost funding for care programs that serve rural low-income Americans at home, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said this week at an event in rural Virginia.
The Connected Care Pilot Program would fund eligible health providers so they can obtain the broadband needed to provide remote patient monitoring and connected technologies to patients, Carr said. The three-year pilot will track costs, savings and outcomes, he said. Continue reading
Photo: Kat Masback via Flickr
Predicting whether a pathogen will have an impact on a few people or an entire population would be a huge achievement in global health security. Public health leaders would be able to determine the most effective response, whether it is expending resources on vaccination, or quarantining people in their homes, or just letting a disease run its course if it isn’t life threatening.
Researchers have turned to information technology to develop mathematical models that may predict the next infectious disease outbreak, but the models so far rely on data from past events to predict the future. Continue reading