TT Note: Another fine example of the changes made in policy over the last 3 months or so. Help one group. Destroy another. This seems to be the rule of the land these days.
Stem cell research does have some great potential. Why not let the earlier approved lines continue their research?
/PRNewswire / -- -- Regulations governing stem cell research proposed by the Obama Administration -- unless modified before final implementation on July 1 -- prohibit federal funding of important research that had received funding under the Bush Administration, Consumer Watchdog said today. The nonpartisan, nonprofit group called on the National Institutes of Health to change the draft regulations.
On March 9, President Obama signed an executive order intended to lift restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. As part of the order, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were directed to develop regulations "to help ensure that NIH-funded research in this area is ethically responsible, scientifically worthy, and conducted in accordance with applicable law."
"Most of us were heartened when President Obama lifted Bush Administration restrictions on funding stem cell research, but the perverse effect of these proposed NIH rules is that the limited research scientists were able to conduct under Bush will now be ineligible for federal funding," said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Stem Cell Project Director. "Certainly this is not what President Obama intended and the regulations must be modified."
Bush allowed the NIH to fund research on embryonic stem cell lines that were derived before 9 pm, Aug. 9, 2001. In practice there were about 20 lines that were available to scientists that qualified for federal money. Embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to develop into virtually any cell in the body, are derived from embryos left over from in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments and would otherwise be destroyed.
The Bush approved stem cell lines were derived before the proposed NIH rules and do not meet some of their specific technical standards. In addition some stem cell lines derived with state or private funding or in other countries since 2001 don't meet some of the technical specifications of the proposed NIH rules.
For instance, under the new NIH guidelines donors would have to be told that the embryos would be used for stem cell research. When some of the earlier lines were derived, donors were told more generically that the embryos would be used for research. The new regulations call for an explicit statement that the results of using the human embryonic stem cells may have commercial potential and that the donor would not receive any financial benefit from such commercial development. They also would have to be told that the stem cell lines derived from the donated embryos might be maintained for many years.
"The NIH guidelines set the highest standards and make sense going forward," said Simpson. "However the earlier lines were derived under Institutional Review Board (IRB) supervision, following ethical guidelines then in place, suggested by such organizations as the National Academies of Science, or covered by state regulations like those of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. It would be wrong to preclude them from federal funding going forward. You can't hold someone to standards that didn't exist when these lines were derived in good faith according to then existing standards."
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.politicalpotluck.com
Political News You Can Use
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Congressional Credit Card Reform a 'Charade,' Consumer Advocate Says
/PRNewswire / -- The credit card legislation passed yesterday by the United States Senate won't protect consumers against outrageous interest rates or other egregious practices and represents an astounding victory for the banking and credit card industry, a consumer advocate said today.
Harvey Rosenfield, head of the California-based Consumer Education Foundation, noted that under the Senate bill:
-- There is no cap on credit card interest rates. In recent months,
companies have raised interest rates for some consumers -- even those
with good credit -- to over 30%.
-- Companies can raise interest rates on future purchases at any time.
The bill only prevents companies from increasing interest rates on
previous purchases.
-- Credit card companies can unilaterally changes the terms of the credit
card contract.
-- Companies can still use fine print "arbitration" clauses to prevent
consumers from suing them in court.
"This is not 'reform,' it's a charade," said Rosenfield. "After what American consumers have gone through, they deserve real relief. After all, the banking industry would not exist today were it not for a trillion dollar taxpayer bailout that allows banks to borrow our money from the US Treasury at a fraction of a percentage point and then turn around and loan it to us at twenty to fifty times that rate."
"The credit card industry's attempt to portray this as a defeat is just posturing designed to protect its political allies in Washington. As usual, no one in that city seems to be looking out for the interests of the people of our country."
The Consumer Education Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. In March, it co-published a two hundred page report on the causes of the financial debacle: "Sold Out: How Wall Street and Washington Betrayed America." The report can be downloaded at WallStreetWatch.org.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.politicalpotluck.com
Political News You Can Use
Harvey Rosenfield, head of the California-based Consumer Education Foundation, noted that under the Senate bill:
-- There is no cap on credit card interest rates. In recent months,
companies have raised interest rates for some consumers -- even those
with good credit -- to over 30%.
-- Companies can raise interest rates on future purchases at any time.
The bill only prevents companies from increasing interest rates on
previous purchases.
-- Credit card companies can unilaterally changes the terms of the credit
card contract.
-- Companies can still use fine print "arbitration" clauses to prevent
consumers from suing them in court.
"This is not 'reform,' it's a charade," said Rosenfield. "After what American consumers have gone through, they deserve real relief. After all, the banking industry would not exist today were it not for a trillion dollar taxpayer bailout that allows banks to borrow our money from the US Treasury at a fraction of a percentage point and then turn around and loan it to us at twenty to fifty times that rate."
"The credit card industry's attempt to portray this as a defeat is just posturing designed to protect its political allies in Washington. As usual, no one in that city seems to be looking out for the interests of the people of our country."
The Consumer Education Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. In March, it co-published a two hundred page report on the causes of the financial debacle: "Sold Out: How Wall Street and Washington Betrayed America." The report can be downloaded at WallStreetWatch.org.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.politicalpotluck.com
Political News You Can Use
Saturday, May 16, 2009
And Still the Smoke Is Thick..
TT Note: Guess the smoke will stay pretty thick over this burning issue. To me, it makes sense that a cigarette with no carcinogens and no secondhand smoke could be a very big boost for the family of someone who is a heavy smoker and who has been unable to quit. But what do I know. I'm only the asthmatic child of a heavy smoker who didn't know he was destroying my health with his habit. Did he quit? You bet. One week before his death.
Are E-Cigarettes Becoming a Victim of Friendly Fire or Vicious Assault From Special Interest Groups?
/PRNewswire/ -- While e-cigarettes have no known carcinogens and offer the benefit of no secondhand or sidestream smoke, some say that the products have been falling victim to friendly fire in the media. While the e-cigarette manufacturers and retailers believe they are on the same side of health organizations who want people to stop using tobacco, some anti-smoking campaigns are hostile to the idea.
Cheryl Healton, President and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation, is concerned that the product could be used to slow down the quitting process.
The American Legacy Foundation states on its website:
"We have seen no studies regarding whether e-cigarettes actually help smokers quit or, instead, delay cessation attempts by providing smokers with a way to continue their smoking behaviors when they cannot smoke a tobacco product."
With four prominent politicians on the board of directors, ranging from state attorney generals to senators and one who was named to World Pharmaceutical Frontiers' first "Pharma 40" list, it could easily be understood how this could be more of a political agenda than in the best interests of smokers and the public of the United States.
Even amid all of this, e-cigarettes are still rolling out to the public. Demand seems to be growing by the day, no matter what type of negative campaign comes along, suggesting that the public seems to be making up their own minds on the matter. After a recent spot on The Today Show concerning e-cigarettes, sales skyrocketed.
"Our sales shot up 100%," says Kyle Newton of EcigarettesChoice.com. "We're working harder every day to keep up with growing demand... people are elated that we're able to offer these products. I lost my mom to tobacco-related lung cancer, so this is an extremely personal issue for me... I wish they had been available for her."
And Kyle isn't alone in this personal quest. A quick search on blogs and forums for e-cigarette related information reveals a plethora of comments that support the product and an overwhelming displeasure of the FDA and special interest health groups' treatment of these products.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia
Are E-Cigarettes Becoming a Victim of Friendly Fire or Vicious Assault From Special Interest Groups?
/PRNewswire/ -- While e-cigarettes have no known carcinogens and offer the benefit of no secondhand or sidestream smoke, some say that the products have been falling victim to friendly fire in the media. While the e-cigarette manufacturers and retailers believe they are on the same side of health organizations who want people to stop using tobacco, some anti-smoking campaigns are hostile to the idea.
Cheryl Healton, President and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation, is concerned that the product could be used to slow down the quitting process.
The American Legacy Foundation states on its website:
"We have seen no studies regarding whether e-cigarettes actually help smokers quit or, instead, delay cessation attempts by providing smokers with a way to continue their smoking behaviors when they cannot smoke a tobacco product."
With four prominent politicians on the board of directors, ranging from state attorney generals to senators and one who was named to World Pharmaceutical Frontiers' first "Pharma 40" list, it could easily be understood how this could be more of a political agenda than in the best interests of smokers and the public of the United States.
Even amid all of this, e-cigarettes are still rolling out to the public. Demand seems to be growing by the day, no matter what type of negative campaign comes along, suggesting that the public seems to be making up their own minds on the matter. After a recent spot on The Today Show concerning e-cigarettes, sales skyrocketed.
"Our sales shot up 100%," says Kyle Newton of EcigarettesChoice.com. "We're working harder every day to keep up with growing demand... people are elated that we're able to offer these products. I lost my mom to tobacco-related lung cancer, so this is an extremely personal issue for me... I wish they had been available for her."
And Kyle isn't alone in this personal quest. A quick search on blogs and forums for e-cigarette related information reveals a plethora of comments that support the product and an overwhelming displeasure of the FDA and special interest health groups' treatment of these products.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Proposed E-Cigarette Ban Pushed In The Name Of America's Health Actually A Backdoor Boost To Pharmaceutical Companies
TT Note: I've been watching this debate with interest. If our government is so very concerned with the safety of these electronic cigarettes, then shouldn't our government also be so very concerned with the safety of traditional cigarettes? Seems just a tad bit confusing, doesn't it?
/24-7 / -- Our leading health groups are marching a parade against newly marketed e-cigarettes. This parade is lead by the backdoor politician, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). This seemingly health conscious senator, who has taken well over $100,000 from the pharmaceutical companies that market smoking cessation products, is trying to ban a product that offers none of the carcinogens of traditional tobacco cigarettes.
Electronic cigarettes vaporize a water-based solution that gives the user the sensation of smoking while emitting only a light water vapor. This eliminates the public concern of secondhand smoke as well as cutting out all the carcinogens associated with tobacco and the chemicals used in tobacco cigarette production.
Senator Lautenberg claims the FDA should run extensive testing on these products to "verify" their safety, but many are concerned that stance is contrary to the American principle of "innocent until proven guilty". Many doctors believe that halting this far less harmful smoking alternative would, ironically, save the pharmaceutical companies that market smoking cessation products billions of dollars a year.
A few people have spoken up for e-cigarettes, most notably Chair of the Tobacco Control Group for the American Association of Public Health Physicians, Dr. Joel L. Nitzkin, who has stated his vigorous opposition of Senator Lautenberg's proposals. He and many other reasonable individuals are convinced that it is harmful to public health to ban a product that is by default far less dangerous than its traditional counterpart and put what amounts to a government seal of approval on the more dangerous product. Not only that, but many complain that Senator Lautenberg is not a medical professional.
Who should our lawmakers and the FDA be listening to? Should we listen to a non-medically licensed politician whose motives align themselves with the big pharmaceutical companies he protects or should we listen to the health professionals that are all but screaming for us to actually pay attention to our country's real health issues?
When a government is in the pockets of private companies, we run dangerously close to abandoning our democratic process and a government that will sacrifice the health of its citizens is a government by the money, for the money. Let's tell our politicians that the people are the government and politicians can only ignore their constituents for so long before their game runs out.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow on Twitter and Facebook
/24-7 / -- Our leading health groups are marching a parade against newly marketed e-cigarettes. This parade is lead by the backdoor politician, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). This seemingly health conscious senator, who has taken well over $100,000 from the pharmaceutical companies that market smoking cessation products, is trying to ban a product that offers none of the carcinogens of traditional tobacco cigarettes.
Electronic cigarettes vaporize a water-based solution that gives the user the sensation of smoking while emitting only a light water vapor. This eliminates the public concern of secondhand smoke as well as cutting out all the carcinogens associated with tobacco and the chemicals used in tobacco cigarette production.
Senator Lautenberg claims the FDA should run extensive testing on these products to "verify" their safety, but many are concerned that stance is contrary to the American principle of "innocent until proven guilty". Many doctors believe that halting this far less harmful smoking alternative would, ironically, save the pharmaceutical companies that market smoking cessation products billions of dollars a year.
A few people have spoken up for e-cigarettes, most notably Chair of the Tobacco Control Group for the American Association of Public Health Physicians, Dr. Joel L. Nitzkin, who has stated his vigorous opposition of Senator Lautenberg's proposals. He and many other reasonable individuals are convinced that it is harmful to public health to ban a product that is by default far less dangerous than its traditional counterpart and put what amounts to a government seal of approval on the more dangerous product. Not only that, but many complain that Senator Lautenberg is not a medical professional.
Who should our lawmakers and the FDA be listening to? Should we listen to a non-medically licensed politician whose motives align themselves with the big pharmaceutical companies he protects or should we listen to the health professionals that are all but screaming for us to actually pay attention to our country's real health issues?
When a government is in the pockets of private companies, we run dangerously close to abandoning our democratic process and a government that will sacrifice the health of its citizens is a government by the money, for the money. Let's tell our politicians that the people are the government and politicians can only ignore their constituents for so long before their game runs out.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow on Twitter and Facebook
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Toxic Food, Herbs, Botanicals... yuck
Sure hope I haven't bought any of the stuff from this company! I'm a big tea drinker, love my Irish blend (like mainlining caffeine ;-) and herbal teas (to calm me down from the caffeine...). Do any of you remember reading the stories when Consumer Digest (I think) analyzed what was in our cereal and other products? I didn't eat anything out of a box for years. I don't like reading about things like this...
FDA: More than $1.5 Million of Adulterated Food, Food Ingredients Seized
Filthy conditions, failure to correct violations prompted action
At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals today seized more than $1.5 million worth of food products, including herbs and botanicals, stored under filthy conditions at the American Mercantile Corporation of Memphis, Tenn.
During an inspection of American Mercantile in March, FDA investigators discovered evidence of extensive rodent and insect infestation throughout the company’s warehouse. The company failed to correct these problems. Acting on a warrant issued by the United Stated District Court in Memphis, U.S. Marshals seized all FDA-regulated food products exposed to rodent and insect contamination at the facility. The seized products violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they were held under insanitary conditions under which they may have become contaminated with filth.
“FDA will not tolerate a company’s failure to adequately control and prevent filth in its facility,” said Michael Chappell, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “The FDA is prepared to use whatever legal means are necessary and appropriate to keep potentially contaminated products out of the marketplace.”
American Mercantile stores and processes food ingredients, which are then sold to and used in the dietary supplement and herbal tea industries. The seized articles include food products, such as sarsaparilla, spearmint leaves, cornstarch, sweet orange peels powder, licorice powder, sassafras, and salt.
The FDA has no reports of illness associated with consumption of the products.
FDA: More than $1.5 Million of Adulterated Food, Food Ingredients Seized
Filthy conditions, failure to correct violations prompted action
At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals today seized more than $1.5 million worth of food products, including herbs and botanicals, stored under filthy conditions at the American Mercantile Corporation of Memphis, Tenn.
During an inspection of American Mercantile in March, FDA investigators discovered evidence of extensive rodent and insect infestation throughout the company’s warehouse. The company failed to correct these problems. Acting on a warrant issued by the United Stated District Court in Memphis, U.S. Marshals seized all FDA-regulated food products exposed to rodent and insect contamination at the facility. The seized products violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they were held under insanitary conditions under which they may have become contaminated with filth.
“FDA will not tolerate a company’s failure to adequately control and prevent filth in its facility,” said Michael Chappell, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “The FDA is prepared to use whatever legal means are necessary and appropriate to keep potentially contaminated products out of the marketplace.”
American Mercantile stores and processes food ingredients, which are then sold to and used in the dietary supplement and herbal tea industries. The seized articles include food products, such as sarsaparilla, spearmint leaves, cornstarch, sweet orange peels powder, licorice powder, sassafras, and salt.
The FDA has no reports of illness associated with consumption of the products.
Labels:
american mercantile,
botanicals,
fayette front page,
fda,
food,
georgia,
herbs,
insect,
rodent,
toxic
Obama: Muslim Father, Mormon Mother, Is He a Musmon?
TT Note: Sometimes, stories just pop out and demand attention. For me, this is one of them. The LDS has long been allowing posthumous baptisms. My understanding is their members believe it is their duty to try and save everyone. I really do wonder what the Obama family thinks of this development of his mother now being a Mormon. How does that mesh with his Islamic upbringing? How does that mesh with his current belief, whatever that may be?
LDS Church Investigates Baptism Performed for Obama's Late Mother
The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.
Several newsletter readers have written to point out a story in today's newspapers: President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995, was baptized posthumously into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints last year during her son's campaign, according to Salt Lake City-based researcher Helen Radkey. The ritual, known as “baptism for the dead,” was done June 4 in the Provo temple, and another LDS temple rite, known as the “endowment,” was performed in the same temple on June 11, said Radkey, who found the record while doing genealogy research in the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints immediately reiterated its policy regarding proxy baptisms. "The offering of baptism to our deceased ancestors is a sacred practice to us, and it is counter to church policy for a church member to submit names for baptism for persons to whom they are not related," said LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter.
"The church is looking into the circumstances of how this happened and does not yet have all the facts," he added. "However, this is a serious matter, and we are treating it as such."
The White House declined to comment Tuesday.
Many newspapers are carrying the story today. You can find some of the articles at http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=Mormon+Church+Obama%27s+mother.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
LDS Church Investigates Baptism Performed for Obama's Late Mother
The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.
Several newsletter readers have written to point out a story in today's newspapers: President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995, was baptized posthumously into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints last year during her son's campaign, according to Salt Lake City-based researcher Helen Radkey. The ritual, known as “baptism for the dead,” was done June 4 in the Provo temple, and another LDS temple rite, known as the “endowment,” was performed in the same temple on June 11, said Radkey, who found the record while doing genealogy research in the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints immediately reiterated its policy regarding proxy baptisms. "The offering of baptism to our deceased ancestors is a sacred practice to us, and it is counter to church policy for a church member to submit names for baptism for persons to whom they are not related," said LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter.
"The church is looking into the circumstances of how this happened and does not yet have all the facts," he added. "However, this is a serious matter, and we are treating it as such."
The White House declined to comment Tuesday.
Many newspapers are carrying the story today. You can find some of the articles at http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=Mormon+Church+Obama%27s+mother.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Labels:
atlanta,
baptism,
barack obama,
fayette front page,
georgia,
georgia front page,
latter day saints,
lds,
mormon,
mother,
muslim,
obama
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Government Not the Only Ones Wanting Your Info
TT Note: This article highlights some of the potential headaches Americans could face with Obama's electronic information gathering. How many times do we hear on the news that another doctor's office has just thrown out sensitive information? Just wait until the hackers find their way in to your doctor's office. Can someone get me some aspirin, please?
Obama's Support for Digital Health Records May Increase Identity Theft
/PRNewswire/ -- President Obama has proposed sweeping reform of the nation's healthcare system and said he believes all medical records should be computerized and standardized within five years. The President hopes this will result in increased quality of care, decreased costs, and creation of thousands of new jobs. Todd Feinman, a published security expert and CEO of Identity Finder (http://www.identityfinder.com/), cautions, however, that electronic medical records add higher risk of identity theft unless they are carefully protected. "The HIPAA Privacy rules have only been around for a couple of years; many healthcare providers are still unprepared to protect patients' personally identifiable information (PII), which if stolen could lead to identity fraud." Feinman discusses below the special HIPAA compliance initiative his firm has enacted to ensure electronic patient health information (ePHI) is protected.
In 2006, the Health and Human Services issued final ruling regarding HIPAA enforcement and set civil money penalties for violating HIPAA rules. These regulatory requirements call for organizations to proactively protect patient health information, but still too often PHI ends up unprotected in a spreadsheet on a nurse's computer. "If healthcare providers have a security breach, not only would that be a violation of patients' privacy, but also the associated costs would be dramatically higher than implementing some simple, preventive measures," says Feinman. The upcoming changes by the Obama Administration could make organizations' exposure of PHI even worse.
Feinman's company, Identity Finder, has developed software that searches for and secures PHI, the type of sensitive information specifically referred to by HIPAA privacy legislation. Many healthcare providers and healthcare payers are now cleaning PHI from computers using Identity Finder. Wayne Martin, Information Security Officer at University of Virginia's Health System, had the following to say, "Identity Finder helps us locate patient health information so that we can protect it at the source and educate users on the proper handling of information in accordance with University, State, and Federal policies."
Identity Finder has taken a groundbreaking approach by giving organizations insight into the root cause of the problem. Most organizations don't even know where their PHI is. "Not only do we help organizations find and protect PHI, but we also give them the ability to monitor how much exposure the organization has to unsecured PHI so they can prevent data leakage issues." Feinman's engineers have spent years developing proprietary search algorithms to find confidential personal information quickly and accurately.
The software automatically finds PHI such as social security numbers, medical record numbers, dates of birth, driver licenses, personal addresses, and other private data within files, e-mails, databases, websites, and system areas. Once found, the software makes it simple for users or administrators to permanently shred, scrub, or secure the information. Their recently released management console aggregates the data and provides a report card for organizations to see how their policies are performing.
Identity Finder can be run centrally by administrators or stand-alone on a PC or Mac by data owners. For this reason, Identity Finder is an ideal fit for both smaller and larger healthcare providers and payers, as well as other organizations who want to minimize their risks and prevent confidential data loss.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter @GAFrontPage
Obama's Support for Digital Health Records May Increase Identity Theft
/PRNewswire/ -- President Obama has proposed sweeping reform of the nation's healthcare system and said he believes all medical records should be computerized and standardized within five years. The President hopes this will result in increased quality of care, decreased costs, and creation of thousands of new jobs. Todd Feinman, a published security expert and CEO of Identity Finder (http://www.identityfinder.com/), cautions, however, that electronic medical records add higher risk of identity theft unless they are carefully protected. "The HIPAA Privacy rules have only been around for a couple of years; many healthcare providers are still unprepared to protect patients' personally identifiable information (PII), which if stolen could lead to identity fraud." Feinman discusses below the special HIPAA compliance initiative his firm has enacted to ensure electronic patient health information (ePHI) is protected.
In 2006, the Health and Human Services issued final ruling regarding HIPAA enforcement and set civil money penalties for violating HIPAA rules. These regulatory requirements call for organizations to proactively protect patient health information, but still too often PHI ends up unprotected in a spreadsheet on a nurse's computer. "If healthcare providers have a security breach, not only would that be a violation of patients' privacy, but also the associated costs would be dramatically higher than implementing some simple, preventive measures," says Feinman. The upcoming changes by the Obama Administration could make organizations' exposure of PHI even worse.
Feinman's company, Identity Finder, has developed software that searches for and secures PHI, the type of sensitive information specifically referred to by HIPAA privacy legislation. Many healthcare providers and healthcare payers are now cleaning PHI from computers using Identity Finder. Wayne Martin, Information Security Officer at University of Virginia's Health System, had the following to say, "Identity Finder helps us locate patient health information so that we can protect it at the source and educate users on the proper handling of information in accordance with University, State, and Federal policies."
Identity Finder has taken a groundbreaking approach by giving organizations insight into the root cause of the problem. Most organizations don't even know where their PHI is. "Not only do we help organizations find and protect PHI, but we also give them the ability to monitor how much exposure the organization has to unsecured PHI so they can prevent data leakage issues." Feinman's engineers have spent years developing proprietary search algorithms to find confidential personal information quickly and accurately.
The software automatically finds PHI such as social security numbers, medical record numbers, dates of birth, driver licenses, personal addresses, and other private data within files, e-mails, databases, websites, and system areas. Once found, the software makes it simple for users or administrators to permanently shred, scrub, or secure the information. Their recently released management console aggregates the data and provides a report card for organizations to see how their policies are performing.
Identity Finder can be run centrally by administrators or stand-alone on a PC or Mac by data owners. For this reason, Identity Finder is an ideal fit for both smaller and larger healthcare providers and payers, as well as other organizations who want to minimize their risks and prevent confidential data loss.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter @GAFrontPage
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)