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This CURES Act Final Rule represents a significant change from the days of HL7. It has the promise of enabling patients to more securely retrieve and use their own medical records. This can fulfill the original intent and promise of HIPAA. However, for organizations to do so and not put patients at further risk, we need to evolve.

Benjamin notes that many health departments still share data by fax, which is more time-consuming than digital methods. A lack of funds also means that overburdened staff dont have enough time to analyse the data they have.

A digitally integrated patient intake form is a better workflow for everyone involved and more accurate since the patient can often complete the forms at home, at their speed, and with access to all the info they need to complete the forms.

Telemedicine provider Teladoc Health has reached an agreement to buy the diabetes coaching company Livongo in an $18.5 billion deal that will create the first true health tech giant in an era in which demand for virtual care is surging.The merger agreement, announced on Wednesday morning, is expected to create a combined company on track to bring in $1.3 billion in revenue this year, up 85% over last year. Jason Gorevic, Teladocs current CEO, will be the CEO of the newly combined company, which will be called Teladoc and will be based in New York. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year, pending approval of regulators and shareholders.

As we reported previously, the HIMSS 2021 conference is officially being moved to August. It will still be held in Las Vegas at the Sands EXPO Center, but now shifted to the summer August 9-13, 2021. In a press briefing today, Hal Wolf, CEO of HIMSS mentioned that they have secured additional space to accommodate social distancing or other changes that may be needed.The obvious concern for August in Las Vegas is the heat. According to Vegas.com, the average high in August is a balmy 102F. This can make walking from place to place during HIMSS21 rather uncomfortable. Luckily several of the hotels are already connected via air conditioned walkways and more are being built.

Fax represents a large amount of data that is shared between hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, and other healthcare organizations. As we know, digital cloud fax is highly secure, flexible, and easy to use. For organizations that are sending and receiving Protected Health Information (PHI) and other confidential data, however, special precautions need to be taken, especially with regard to the use of mobile devices.

Diameter Health President John D’Amore discusses the ONC and CMS rulings and the future of interoperability in the U.S.

OCR Director Roger Severino agrees. In a statement on the Lifespan case, he put it simply:“Laptops, cellphones, and other mobile devices are stolen every day, thats the hard reality,” said Severino. “Covered entities can best protect their patients’ data by encrypting mobile devices to thwart identity thieves.”

We need to embrace the interest in humanity and its expression through caring that Dr. Peabody described; and we do that by tapping our own empathy for the fragmented and complex system our patients attempt to navigate today: Imagining and at times feeling what another person feels, and then doing something about it. Imagine what empathy can do when fully operationalized.3

The report concludes there is evidence that Medicares new telehealth flexibilities played a critical role in helping to maintain access to primary health care services - when many beneficiaries and providers were concerned with transmission of COVID-19. Future research could examine whether these flexibilities were effective and if telehealth may have improved access to care and health outcomes among underserved beneficiaries.