Skip to main content
Wikileaks - implications for EMRs?  Definitely, says Dr. Westby G. Fisher.

Wikileaks' - implications for corporate data security?  Absolutely.  More, here, from Knowledge @ Wharton about what's called "...the first really sustained confrontation between the established order and the culture of the internet." 
"For companies, the WikiLeaks case may ultimately serve as a parable on guarding sensitive information. Joseph Turow, professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, says the State Department cables released by WikiLeaks, while controversial, are perhaps more well-thought-out than most internal corporate communications. "If I were a CEO, this would not make me feel comfortable. I would be very concerned that this would happen in my company," he says. "The cables that have been released look incredibly tame compared to the e-mail that people send around corporations."'
Though HIPAA is debated ad infinitum and discussed ad nauseum, an under-appreciated risk to organizations may be in those e-mails and meeting minutes.  You know what I mean.   Messages where you brag about acquiring your nearest competitor and dominating the market.   Your "Kill the SOBs!" negotiating strategy for a new Blue Cross contract.  The revenge you'll take against physicians opening a competing surgery center.

Would you feel comfortable with them on your local paper's front page?  I thought not.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Michael Porter On Health Care Reform

Michael Porter, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, proposes "A Strategy For Health Care Reform - Toward A Value-Based System." His proposals are fundamental, lucid and right-on, meaning they're sure to be opposed by some parties to the debate, the so-called "Yes, but..." crowd. Most important, in my opinion, is this: "... electronic medical records will enable value improvement, but only if they support integrated care and outcome measurement. Simply automating current delivery practices will be a hugely expensive exercise in futility. Among our highest near-term priorities is to finalize and then continuously update health information technology (HIT) standards that include precise data definitions (for diagnoses and treatments, for example), an architecture for aggregating data for each patient over time and across providers, and protocols for seamless communication among systems. "Finally, consumers must become much mor...

Simplicity From Complexity

Health care planners typically juggle many different services and businesses, each with unique customers, competitors and prospects.  The complexity can be overwhelming.  So-called portfolio models for assessing industry attractiveness and competitive strength can be a good analytical jumping-off point, including the McKinsey-GE 9-box matrix . (Click on the "Launch Interactive" link.)

5 Marketing Megatrends

Coming to a brand near you, from Adam Kleinberg at iMedia Connection, here are " 5 marketing megatrends you can't ignore ." Mass collaboration... Constant connectivity... Globalization... Pervasive distrust in big corporations... A global sense of urgency... #4 is, I think, under-appreciated in health care. Doctors and hospitals like to think of themselves as the last of the white hat-wearing good guys, and maybe they are. But trust is a funny thing - built over decades and lost overnight. Screw it up and watch the laser beam of populist rage move from Wall Street to Medical Avenue.