Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/777561
16 CIO / HEALTH IT Officials: No Hacker Skills Needed for Data Breach in NH Psychiatric Hospital By Molly Gamble T he former New Hampshire Hospital patient who allegedly ac- cessed information for up to 15,000 people on a computer in the hospital's library did not need any special computer skills to obtain the information, according to state officials. Jeffrey Meyers, commissioner of the state Department of Health and Human Services, told the New Hampshire Union Leader that the in- formation was readily accessible on computers used by patients at NHH, the state's psychiatric hospital in Concord. A former patient allegedly used a hospital library computer in October 2015 to access information on up to 15,000 people who received services from the state health department, including wel- fare, Medicaid and child protective services. Hospital security staff found the confidential information posted on social media more than a year later. State officials believe the personal information was posted only once, on Nov. 4, 2016. It was removed within 24 hours of discovery. "We do not believe there was any hack into the computer net- work," Mr. Meyers told the New Hampshire Union Leader. "The computer was configured in a way that the individual was able to gain access inappropriately to information that they should not have had access to." Another official said the patient used an already logged-in account that was made accessible with a password previously entered. Mr. Meyers said a criminal investigation is underway. n Intermountain Healthcare Leverages Telehealth for Infectious Disease Care By Jessica Kim Cohen S alt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare im- proves infectious disease care and antibiotic pre- scriptions through its Infectious Diseases TeleHealth program, according to a post on the health system's blog. The program provides consultations with infectious diseases physicians to patients and staff at Inter- mountain Healthcare's small hospitals. The telehealth program is a type of antibiotic stewardship program, which seeks to optimize antibiotic use in hospitals; antibiotic stewardship programs are mandatory at all hospitals in the United States under Joint Commis- sion regulations, according to the blog post. The Infectious Diseases TeleHealth program has been deployed at Logan Regional Hospital, Riverton Hospi- tal, Alta View Hospital and Park City Hospital in Utah. Intermountain Healthcare plans to bring its remaining small hospitals into the program by April 2017. n McKesson, Change Healthcare Unveil Name of Newly Merged Company By Erin Dietsche F ollowing the close of an antitrust investigation into their merger, McKesson and Change Healthcare have revealed the name of and branding decision behind their combined tech company. e name of the organization will be Change Healthcare. e logo and visual identity of the company will be completely reinvented, but won't be released in their entirety until the transaction closes. "Aer a thorough evaluation of potential names as well as cus- tomer and legal input, we came to the conclusion that 'Change Healthcare' best articulates the new company's mission," said McKesson CEO John Hammergren. "It speaks directly to our clients who share our vision for a better healthcare system, and it reinforces the ambitions and spirit of our new company, our great potential and our transformative role in healthcare." Last June, the two companies revealed plans to combine McK- esson's IT business unit with Change Healthcare's businesses to create a new company focused on healthcare technology and technology enabled services. e merger remains subject to certain closing conditions. It's ex- pected to close in the first half of this year. n CHIME, HIMSS Names Children's Health's Pamela Arora CIO of The Year By Anuja Vaidya P amela Arora, CIO of Dallas-based Children's Health, is the 2016 John E. Gall, Jr. CIO of the Year. The College of Health- care Information Management Executives and Healthcare In- formation and Management Systems Society sponsor the award. The award honors healthcare IT executives "who have made signifi- cant contributions to their organization and demonstrated innovative leadership through effective use of technology," according to a news release. Ms. Arora has played an instrumental part in furthering Children's Health's information sharing. Children's Health has entered into part- nerships with regional health information exchange programs and it became one of the first health systems in the nation to give parents unrestricted access to their children's health information. Ms. Arora has been a HIMSS member for 13 years. She has served on both the CHIME and the Health Information Trust Alliance board of trustees. n