Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/944376
40 CIO / HEALTH IT Intel Faces 3 Class-Action Lawsuits in Wake of Chip Flaws By Julie Spitzer T hree states — California, Oregon and Indiana — filed class-action lawsuits against Intel aer security researchers revealed vulnerabilities in its computer chips in January, according to e Hill. e company and other members of the tech community became aware of the chips' bugs, which leave countless computer processors built over the last 10 years vulnerable to mal- ware attacks, in June 2016; yet they failed to publicly disclose the information. Dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, the vulnerabilities affect other firms' chips as well, including those manufactured by AMD, Qualcomm and Arm as well as Amazon's, Google's and Apple's cloud systems. e lawsuits highlight Intel's delay in dis- closing the two vulnerabilities and allege the patches designed to fix them will cause com- puters to operate slower, according to e Hill. Intel addressed the flaws in a Jan. 3 statement, writing it is "working closely with many other technology companies, including AMD, Arm Holdings and several operating system ven- dors, to develop an industry-wide approach to resolve this issue promptly and construc- tively. Intel has begun providing soware and firmware updates to mitigate these exploits." e company disputed the lawsuits' claims, noting "any performance impacts are work- load-dependent, and, for the average computer user, should not be significant and will be miti- gated over time," according to e Hill. Legal experts expect more consumer lawsuits and lawsuits from companies who were im- pacted will be filed since the number of com- puters affected dates back to 1995, e Hill added. n Former ONC Head Dr. Karen DeSalvo Joins Dell Med By Julie Spitzer K aren DeSalvo, MD, a former leader at HHS' ONC joined the faculty at The University of Tex- as at Austin's Dell Medical School in January. Dr. DeSalvo is a nationally recognized physician leader at the intersection of public health, medi- cine and health IT. She was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2014 to serve as nation- al coordinator for health IT and concurrently served as assistant secretary for health at HHS. At Dell Med, Dr. DeSalvo will serve as a professor in the division of primary care and value-based health, with a primary appointment in the depart- ment of internal medicine and secondary appoint- ment in the department of population health. She will work on projects involving community health, medical care and research related to the social de- terminants of health, as well as ways of leveraging technology and digital health in public health pro- grams and strategies. "Awareness that health means more than health- care cuts across the Dell Medical School. As a brand-new institution, it has a unique opportunity to design an educational, clinical and community approach to health," Dr. DeSalvo said. "The inno- vation that's happening here is exciting, and I look forward to joining the dynamic and distinguished team of leaders." Dr. DeSalvo has served as health commissioner for the City of New Orleans and held a faculty ap- pointment and leadership position at New Orle- ans-based Tulane University, including chief of the division of general internal medicine. n United Airlines Connects Epic to Silicon Valley With Daily, Direct Flights From Madison to San Francisco By Julie Spitzer U nited Airlines plans to offer daily nonstop service, once a day, from Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wis., to San Francisco International Airport starting June 7, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. Employees of Epic, which is based Madison's backyard Vero- na, Wis., will likely take advantage of the flights, spokeswoman Meghan Roh told the Wisconsin State Journal. "We are excited about United's decision," Ms. Roh said. "It not only brings increased opportunities for us to support our current and future Northern California customers, but also helps grow an important relationship between the Bay Area and Madison's tech community." A number of other Madison-area health technology compa- nies, like Exact Sciences and Propeller Health, could also benefit from the services. Other tech startups, like EatStreet, a mobile meal-ordering app, frequent San Francisco and nearby Silicon Valley. EatStreet thinks Madison's technology industry will gain from United's decision. "[A nonstop flight] makes it easier for Silicon Valley investors, ven- ture capitalists and potential employees to visit Madison to get a firsthand look at tech companies they may want to be a part of," EatStreet's CEO Matt Howard told the Wisconsin State Journal. Madison will be the smallest city east of the Mississippi River to have direct flights to San Francisco and the only one in Wisconsin, airport spokesman Brent McHenry told the Wisconsin State Jour- nal. Round-trip tickets start around $375. n