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Protecting trade secrets in order to retain their value is only possible once a business understands the types of assets that deserve protection under trade secret law. While business owners are typically aware that a secret process constitutes a trade secret, often overlooked are sales plans, business policies and customer lists. That said, although a [...]

Healthcare Technology: Why did you found the Galen Institute? Grace-Marie Turner: Health policy is something that I think is tremendously important to every one of us. I was a consultant in the early 1990s, writing policy papers and doing research for individuals and companies on a number of issues. I increasingly wanted to focus on [...]

Healthcare Technology: How does HIMSS currently drive its goal of providing connected, interoperable healthcare? Stephen Lieber: I think there are at least a couple of very visible external additions to where we were at this time last year, as well as a significant number of internal initiatives that contribute toward that goal. The two external, [...]

In a country where healthcare spending is 16 percent of the gross domestic product, and much higher than other industrialized countries, the United States – according to many leading employers – is losing its competitiveness and ability to compete globally. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, healthcare spending per capita in Switzerland [...]

According to CMS, 40 percent of laboratory claims are rejected or denied due to errors or incomplete information. Only half of these are ever corrected and resubmitted.While lab orders account for 30 percent of all claims, they represent only about 2 percent of healthcare spending. The sheer volume of low-dollar claims combined with the complexities [...]

The managing director of the health program at the Markle Foundation explains why public trust is essential to the successful exchange of electronic health information – and how we can build it. Healthcare Technology: Can you tell us a little about the Markle Foundation and Connecting for Health? Carol Diamond: The Markle Foundation is a [...]

The healthcare industry is challenged with providing secure access to authorized professionals while ensuring patient record privacy required by government regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) without compromising the medical staff’s need for quick, simple access to critical health data. All of these challenges have to be met at a [...]

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) makes protecting and securing confidential patient data a key concern for healthcare IT professionals. One of the main challenges is balancing HIPAA requirements of developing secure systems and procedures ensuring the confidentiality of patient medical records – without compromising the medical professional’s need for quick, [...]

HIPAA Administrative Simplification intends to do what other industries have successfully achieved by sitting down with competitors – standardize common electronic transactions to reduce healthcare’s overhead cost.While not a surprising piece of legislation, Administrative Simplification’s companion privacy and security regulations have jolted just about every corner of the industry. HIPAA’s privacy rule has been controversial, [...]