HHS published guidance on cybersecurity for healthcare organizations. Even though it's voluntary, the new HHS Guidance is significant to the extent it lays out the agency's expectations of the … [Read more...]
COMPLIANCE CORNER
Cybersecurity: The 10 Things HHS Says You Should Be Doing to Stop Phishing, Ransomware and Other Threats
February 18, 2019
INFORMATICS
Big Data Can Reshape Lab Reference Values in the Era of Personalized Medicine
December 31, 2018
As might be expected, there are substantial differences in "normal" laboratory values determined by healthy outpatients and critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, even … [Read more...]
INDUSTRY TRENDS
One-Fourth of Myriad’s Variants of Unknown Significance Reclassified Over 10 Years
November 19, 2018
Variant reclassification following hereditary cancer genetic testing is common, according to a study published by Myriad Genetics (Salt Lake City) Sept. 25 in the Journal of the American Medical … [Read more...]
CYBERSECURITY
Case of the Month: Anthem Settles Massive HIPAA Breach Case for Record $16 Million
October 19, 2018
Pop Quiz: What's the highest amount a health care entity ever paid to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to settle a HIPAA violation? The answer used to be $5.5 million paid by Advocate Health … [Read more...]
DATA
Cybersecurity: LabCorp Reports What Could Be a Major Data Breach
August 22, 2018
Cyberattacks and data breaches against health providers are a daily occurrence. But when the breach takes place at a firm as big and powerful as LabCorp and potentially affects the health records of … [Read more...]
EMERGING TESTS
Artificial Intelligence Merges Histology, Genomics to Predict Survival
April 24, 2018
A deep learning computational approach can predict survival with brain tumors directly from digital histological images and genomic biomarkers, according to a study published online March 12 in the … [Read more...]
TESTING TRENDS
Methods for Reanalysis of Exome Sequencing Emerging
April 24, 2018
Clinical whole-exome sequencing (WES) offers diagnosis for approximately 30 percent of patients, but it has exponentially increased the number of variants identified—many of which are of unknown … [Read more...]
LEGISLATION
Labs In Court: A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry
March 13, 2018
ACLA Goes for Jugular in PAMA Challenge Case Case: Attorneys for the American Clinical Laboratory Association asked the federal court for summary judgment in its lawsuit challenging the legality of … [Read more...]
NEWS
Case of Month: Using Window Envelope to Mail HIV Info Costs Aetna $17+ Million
February 13, 2018
You talk about a mailroom mess-up! A shockingly bad choice in envelopes has just cost one of the country's largest health insurers over $17 million. The Lawsuit On Jan. 16, Aetna agreed to pay … [Read more...]
EHR
Enforcement Trends: Whistleblowers Get in on the EHR “Meaningful Use” Action
February 7, 2018
Wrongful payment of electronic health records (EHR) "meaningful use" incentives has become a growth area in government health fraud enforcement. (See GCA, July 10, 2017). And now private … [Read more...]
