On 17 October, the UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published a policy paper entitled “The future of healthcare: our vision for digital, data and technology in health and care” (the Policy Paper). The Policy Paper outlines the DHSC’s vision to use technology across the health and care system, from “getting the … Continue Reading
Inflection Point for IoT In a relatively short amount of time, the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and its applications— from smart cars to the myriad of interconnected sensors in the General Service Administration building reminiscent of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey— has rapidly proliferated, providing significant opportunities and benefits. However, … Continue Reading
In the third installment of our series, Covington’s global cross-practice Digital Health team considers some additional key questions about Artificial Intelligence (AI), data privacy, and cybersecurity that companies across the life sciences and technology sectors should be asking to address the regulatory and commercial pieces of the complex digital health puzzle. AI, Data Privacy, and Cybersecurity 1. … Continue Reading
The UK Government has opened a consultation, running until September 7, 2016, regarding how UK National Health Service (NHS) patient data should be safeguarded, and how it could be used for purposes other than direct care (e.g. scientific research). The consultation comes after two parallel-track reviews of information governance and data security arrangements in the … Continue Reading
Last week, the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Senate Committee on Finance sent a letter to Andy Slavitt, Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), and Jocelyn Samuels, Director of the Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights … Continue Reading
On November 2, 2015, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its FY 2016 Work Plan, which summarizes new and ongoing activities that OIG plans to pursue with respect to HHS programs and operations during the fiscal year. The FY 2016 Work Plan includes a new review initiative to examine “whether FDA’s oversight of … Continue Reading
The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (“NCCoE”) has released a draft for public comment of the first guide in a new series of publications “that will show businesses and other organizations how to improve their cybersecurity using standards-based, commercially available or open-source tools.” The guide discusses how to secure electronic health records on mobile devices. … Continue Reading
A new study out by the Ponemon Institute finds that criminal attacks, rather than accidents or technological failures, are the leading cause of data breaches. The report finds that cyber-criminals are increasingly targeting health care providers and business associates for the vast amounts of personal data held by these entities, and that these attacks are … Continue Reading
