HiMSS 21 in-person convention set for Las Vegas, Aug 9-13

PARCA eNews – July 9, 2021 – It’s back to in-person attendance at one of the biggest healthcare conventions in the US. 

CIOs and senior executives, providers and payers, IT and PACS professionals will once again gather in person for HiMSS 21 in Las Vegas for the first time in a year-and-half due to the pandemic.

Too big for a single venue HiMSS 21 will take over Venetian-Sands Expo Center, Caesars Forum Conference Center, and Wynn Las Vegas.

Patient ID Now coalition applauds House action calls on Senate to follow suit

PARCA eNews – July 29, 2021 – The US House of Representatives removed the ban on research into developing a national patient ID for the third year a row. A move that the Patient ID Now coalition praised as a bi-partisan step toward greater patient safety.

In a press release, the coalition used the passage in the House to call on the US Senate, where the bill has floundered each of the past three years, to follow suit and pass the bill.

The coalition is made up of major healthcare organizations including American College of Surgeons, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS), Intermountain Healthcare, and Premier Inc.

SIIM offering virtual conference on AI in medical imaging Sep 19-20

Special $100 member rate for early registration by Aug. 29

PARCA eNews – July 21, 2021 – Staying in the loop with all that is going on in medical imaging is hard enough, keeping up with rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and machine learning in radiology and other medical imaging application is even challenging.

CISA issues alert about Phlips VUE PACS vulnerability

PARCA eNews – July 6, 2021 – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an alert today regarding significant security vulnerabilities for Philips Vue PACS. The alert pertains to several versions of the platform’s software and lists 15 specific vulnerabilities including two that are considered critical on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System.

Historic agreement allows healthcare collaboration between UAE and Israel

PARCA eNews – July 11, 2021 – The United Arab Emirates and the Department of Health for the capital city Abu Dhabi announced in a press release a strategic agreement with Israel’s Sheba Medical Center aimed at creating a framework for developing and improving healthcare services in the country.

In a memorandum of understanding the Abu Dhabi Department of Health and Sheba Medical Center will enter into collaborations for the exchange of knowledge, best medical practices and methodologies.

PARCA founder Herman Oosterwijk featured on new SIIM podcast

PARCA eNews – July 12, 2021 – Herman Oosterwijk has been instrumental in the development of medical imaging as it is used in clinical practice today.

As an engineer/technologist, Herman has served as educator and ultimately as an advocate in developing and guiding the standards that make storing, archiving and sharing of medical images such a dynamic part of current day medical practice.

2020 HIMSS cybersecurity survey reveals startling numbers

PARCA eNews — July 12, 2021 – Healthcare IT security budgets remain low despite increasing threats, a new HIMSS cybersecurity survey reveals.

These are just a few highlights of the HIMSS survey of 168 US based healthcare cybersecurity professionals that was conducted during the pandemic year 2020.

• More than 70% of healthcare organizations experienced significant cybersecurity incidents in the previous 12 months
• Less than 6% of healthcare IT budgets is allocated to cybersecurity
• 89% of initial point of compromise occur through email
• 57% of significant security incidents result from phishing
• 20% of significant incidents involved ransomware

While the overall results suggest healthcare organizations are improving their security, there is growing concern that the efforts may not be enough to keep pace with rapidly evolving threats.

You can read HIMSS Cybersecurity Survey on their website and download the report in a PDF.

ONC announces timeline for TEFCA going live in 2022

PARCA eNews – July 13, 2021 – The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information (ONC) announced its timeline for the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), which aims to develop a nationwide network for the exchange of health information.