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Deconstructing the Security Risk Assessment
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What is the most important piece of advice I would give an organization regarding cybersecurity risk management? My first response was simple (perhaps too simple): Just do it.
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Scrutinizing the Community Benefit (and Harm) of Non-Profit Hospital Billing Practices
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In a recent article, we raised the question of whether nonprofit hospitals are effectively “earning” their privileged tax status by returning a community benefit greater than, or at least equal to, the cost of their deferred taxes. We also discussed how the Affordable Care Act provided essential tools, the Community Health Needs Assessment and the […]
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Today’s Revolutionary Idea: Communities Should Benefit From Community Benefit (And How The Community Health Needs Assessment Can Point Hospitals In The Right Direction)
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The community hospital – frequently a nonprofit organization organized around community service, charity care, and serving the poor in multiple capacities – has been a cornerstone of our health system. Today, the majority of the 6,219 hospitals across the United States (2,978 or 57%) are nonprofit. As a nonprofit, this means that they do not pay certain local, state, and federal taxes, such as property and income taxes. This exemption is not insignificant: in 2020 alone, it amounted to $28 billion.
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5 Tips to Protect Your Privacy Online
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For this week’s segment of Our Ideas, Principal Tina Simpson brings us five ways to protect your data and privacy on your adventures scouring the internet. To recap the importance of this past Saturday’s holiday, Data Privacy Day, we hope these tips highlight and bring awareness about respecting privacy, safeguarding data, and how to enable trust among you and your peers.
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Proper Cybersecurity Practices Amid Big Data & Privacy Breaches
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Between Peiter Zatko’s testimony before Congress regarding Twitter’s privacy and security operations earlier this month and Uber’s data breach last week, the last few weeks have been eventful when it comes to #InfoSec headlines.
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A Case Study in Security by Design & the Cost of Failure
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Two weeks ago, the Washington Post broke a story on the former Twitter Executive and head of security, Peiter Zatko, blowing the whistle on Twitter’s privacy and security practices.
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A Spotlight on Competition: Reflections on Adam Smith, Alain Enthoven, and Winston Churchill
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In the United States, we rely upon free market principles of competition, supply, and demand to provide efficient pricing related to healthcare services. This reliance has led to excessive market concentration in health care. While Americans have spent the past 50 years resolutely resisting proactive regulation to correct this market failure, Atrómitos Principal Tina Simpson shares why she is hopeful that recent “course corrections” applied via an Executive Order and agency action from the FTC and DOJ are not too little too late.
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Post-Public Health Emergency: Don’t Forget the Importance of Telehealth
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The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) moved us to provide and receive telehealth services. As the PHE comes to an end, many of us are reluctant to give up the flexibilities and access telehealth providers to achieve and maintain health. This week, Principal Tina Simpson reminds us about our pre-COVID telehealth experience and advocates for continued (and maybe increased?) access through telehealth.
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Understanding Cybersecurity and Sutton’s Law: Where the Money Is
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There is no shortage of reasons why it is imperative for healthcare providers to improve their cybersecurity insurance. But, recently, doing so has become harder and more costly. Principal Tina Simpson breaks down the causes of these challenges and discusses why coverage is still important. (And if you don’t think the coverage is important, just ask Willie Sutton.)
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#ANFSD: Making That Change Stick with Elizabeth Varones of Anthos
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Atrómitos Principal, Tina Simpson, talks with Transformational Coach and Change Management Consultant, Elizabeth Varones, Founder and President of Anthos Consulting. This article highlights key takeaways from those conversations and provides important insight for leaders as they prepare for change, and persist in making that change “stick.”
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Thinking about Technology in Health Care – The Gap Between Use-Case and Usability
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Lack of EHR usability is related to patient safety and quality concerns as well as provider burnout. Tina Simpson discusses the importance of integrating user centered design principles as it relates to the development, implementation and regulation of EHR platforms.
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Funding for Female Founders and Other F Words
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In recognition of Women’s History Month, Principal Tina Simpson narrows in the single most important limiting factor to the establishment and growth of women (and minority) owned businesses: access to capital. She calls out the hypocrisy of “safe” investment bets, challenges women leaders and entrepreneurs to ask for more, and demands that investors and funders rise to the challenge. After all, #thefutureisfemale.
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#ANFSD: Understanding the Why: Change as Loss
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In the second installment of her Now For Something Completely Different series on change management, Principal Tina Simpson lays out a fundamental truth about change: it is associated with loss. But who is experiencing the loss, and how is that loss best addressed? As a leader, Tina argues, it is your responsibility to know the answers to those questions.
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Recognizing Data Privacy Week & Transparency
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Data Privacy Week is upon us and requires us to take a crucial look at the data privacy infrastructure (or lack thereof) within the United States. Atrómitos Principal Tina Simpson lays out where we are, where we could be, and the responsibility each of us has to better protect all of our data.
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#ANFSD: And Now for Something Completely Different (or so we hope)
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The new year is traditionally a time for new beginnings, new ways of doing things, and new adventures. But starting the “new” (or, in some cases, stopping the “old”) is not easy. Change is hard, both for us as individuals and for the organizations and companies we work in. So Atrómitos Principal Tina Simpson has set out to help us navigate change management through her new series: And Now for Something Completely Different.
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The Log4J Vulnerability: Explained
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It has been a frenetic week in cybersecurity following identification of the Log4J defect and its global exploitation, Atrómitos Principal, Tina Simpson, takes some time to break down what happened, why it matters, and what you need to know going forward.
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HealthTech 2021: Back to Business
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While attending the GIANT digital technology conference in London, Atrómitos Principal Tina Simpson enjoyed the familiarity of convening once again with colleagues in-person; a “here we are again” feeling. But then the realities of how technology is integrated within and across healthcare organizations became apparent and she realized, “Well, here we are again.”
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Understanding the Assignment: Why “Cause Work Is Hard” Isn’t An Excuse
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Implementation of ONC and CMS CURES Act Final Rules raises questions and operational headaches, including the potential for increased administrative burden on providers as change is implemented. But that doesn’t mean that these aren’t important and needed changes. This week Atrómitos Principal Tina Simpson evaluates a recent JAMA study evaluating patients’ immediate access to test results on portals and its association with increased messaging with providers.
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CyberSecurity Awareness Month: A Call to Focus on its Impact on Patient Care
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This week, Tina Simpson is joined by freshman, an information security professional with 25 years’ leadership in cybersecurity, with a particular focus on medtech. In this article, Tina and freshman evaluate a critical cybersecurity capacity and infrastructure gap across health providers in the United States and call for stakeholders to re-evaluate their assessment of the costs of continuing to defer action.
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Moving from Health Literacy to Health Communication
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In honor of International Literacy Day (September 8), we take the opportunity to reflect on how literacy intersects with health outcomes and introduce the importance of health literacy.
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Introducing: Insights into Interoperability
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Getting to “Plays Well with Others” on the Health Records Report Card. Healthcare is a data-driven industry. Delivering the right care to the right patient at the right time and venue depends on having complete, accurate, and timely access to that patient’s health records.
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The Affordable Care Act Lives to Fight Another Day
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Yesterday, the Supreme Court released its decision in California v. Texas, upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) against a challenge by Republican-controlled “Red States” and the Trump Administration.
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Reflections on the Campaign for Data Interoperability
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A little over a week ago, the ONC announced the early retirement of its ten-year Interoperability Roadmap. Here’s our thoughts.
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Public Health is the Future
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It’s National Public Health Week, so it’s time that we recognize public health for what it is (our future) and invest in it as such.
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The American Rescue Plan and Public Health Infrastructure
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Last week Congress passed the much-anticipated American Rescue Plan of 2021 (the ARP). Here’s what you need to know.
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The Cost of Consolidation
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Publicly owned hospitals are becoming an “increasingly endangered species,” and the recent consolidation in North Carolina has garnered both national attention as well as local controversy. Here’s what you need to know.
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The Transition to Coordinated Care: A Marathon, Not a Sprint
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In June 2018, the U.S. DHHS announced its “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care,” with the objective of “promoting” the transition to value-based care by removing “unnecessary obstacles.” But we insist that this one is a marathon, not a sprint.
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ICYMI: Big Changes Coming to NC Advanced Medical Home Program
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Last week, the North Carolina Division of Health Benefits (Medicaid) launched its Advanced Medical Home (AMH) Webinar series with North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC) to support providers in the transition to Medicaid Managed Care. Here’s what you need to know.
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U.S. Health Reform: A Century of Groundhog Days
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Months ago, when we started our series on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), we intended to acknowledge an important anniversary (the failure of the 2017 Republican Congress’ efforts to repeal the ACA). Fast forward six months and four articles later, and we are wrapping up the year along with this series; put it down to another thing that hasn’t gone exactly as planned in 2020.
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Texas v. California and the Doctrine of Judicial Exhaustion
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Today we are, in remembrance of Thanksgiving Dinners’ Past, reminded of the wisdom of letting an argument go and turning to less fiery topics. We will focus on bringing us all back up to speed following the Supreme Court hearing in Texas v. California last week, and will provide our best assessment as to the Supreme Court’s decision in this matter (and when we can expect that decision).