Open for business: private networks create a marketplace for health information exchange.

Large health systems and their IT vendors are creating private information exchange networks at a time when federally funded state operations are gearing up for launch, Is there room for private and public offerings in the new HIE marketplace?

The new privacy officer.

It has been a decade since the first privacy officers took their jobs in response to the HIPAA privacy rule. A slew of changes since then have added more responsibility, required more skills, and demanded more time of them than anyone could have imagined.

Simplification at last?

The HIPAA transaction standards-meant to streamline financial and administrative transactions--have instead devolved into a kind of free-for-all. Now the first operating rules are in hand to standardize use of the standards and gain the efficiencies originally intended.

Meaningful use: notes from the journey.

After debate, speculation, and anxiety throughout the industry, the first physicians and hospitals have embarked on stage 1 of the meaningful use program. So far... so good.