Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday 10 March 2020
Amid virus crisis, officials announce health care tech rules

By RICARDO ALONSO- won’t fall into the hands of
ZALDIVAR third parties that could ex-
WASHINGTON (AP) — With ploit it for profit.
coronavirus topping Ameri- CMS says it intends im-
cans’ concerns, senior prove on health care pri-
Trump administration offi- vacy standards in the smart
cials tried to switch subjects phone industry to provide
Monday by announcing fi- consumers with a higher
nal rules aimed at deliver- level of protection.
ing on the unfulfilled prom- In addition to Azar, among
ise of electronic health re- the top administration of-
cords. ficials joining to make
It did not go smoothly as re- the announcement were
porters veered back to the White House health policy
global outbreak increas- chief Joe Grogan, CMS
ingly affecting U.S. com- Administrator Seema Ver-
munities. ma, and Donald Rucker,
“The notion that we can’t the government’s National
do our day jobs and work Coordinator for Health In-
on this very serious issue formation Technology.
(coronavirus) is absurd,” The administration’s plan
said a frustrated Health had been to make the an-
and Human Services Sec- Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks during a television interview outside the nouncement at a global
retary Alex Azar after one White House in Washington, Monday, March, 9, 2020. health technology con-
reporter noted that finan- Associated Press ference sponsored by the
cial markets had opened nalized by the Trump ad- cut down on duplicative standards for privacy that Healthcare Information
sharply lower over fears of ministration aim to finally fix tests, and help patients be- are imposed on hospitals. and Management Sys-
global economic damage that. come smarter consumers “This could lead to third tems Society in Orlando this
from the outbreak. The regulations are highly of health care services. party apps using personal week. But that event was
Azar recapped administra- complex. Hospitals and a But Rick Pollack, president health information in ways canceled due to concerns
tion actions to try to con- consumer group objected, of the American Hospital in which patients are un- about large gatherings
tain the spread of the virus saying that patient privacy Association, said a new aware,” Pollack said in a where travelers can unwit-
in the U.S., develop tests, would be undermined. generation of health care statement. tingly spread coronavirus.
treatments and vaccines, One rule from the HHS apps could put the person- The consumer advocacy “Sorry we can’t see you
work with local officials in agency that oversees al information of patients at group Public Citizen also in Orlando, which was our
areas that are seeing out- health care technology risk, since the app develop- criticized the new rules, say- original plan here,” tech-
breaks, and care for the would implement congres- ers would not be required ing they fail to guarantee nology coordinator Rucker
sick. Announcement of sional requirements that to meet the same legal that sensitive information told reporters.q
the technology rules was hospitals and other health
originally planned at a care entities put a stop to Twitter in deal with Silver Lake, Elliott;
health care conference in practices that can block
Florida, but that event was the digital transfer of in- Dorsey still CEO
canceled over coronavirus formation. Some systems
concerns. don’t allow screen shots or
The long-awaited rules video to be shared, for ex- By The Associated Press
could take several years ample. Twitter says it’s reached an
for consumers and patients The health care technol- investment deal with Silver
to start seeing the practical ogy office rule also tries to Lake and Elliott Manage-
effects. address access problems ment that will keep Jack
They are intended to get at the patient’s level. It re- Dorsey as the social media
at one of the major prob- quires hospitals and other company’s CEO.
lems with electronic health health care service pro- Twitter Inc. said Monday
records: the systems of hos- viders to allow access to that Silver Lake will make
pitals and doctors often records via software used a $1 billion investment in
don’t ‘talk’ to each other, by smartphone apps, such the company. That money,
and patients struggle to as the ones that already along with cash on hand, is
get their medical informa- handle banking and credit expected to be put toward
tion digitally transmitted, card transactions. Patients a $2 billion stock buyback.
defaulting to CDs and could literally access their Elliott Management Corp., In this June 7, 2019, file photo, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey leaves
faxed paper records. records via the smartphone which owns about 4% of after his talk with French President Emmanuel Macron at the
The federal government in their back pocket. Twitter’s stock, will get one Elysee Palace in Paris.
invested more than $30 CMS will also require hospi- seat on Twitter’s board. Associated Press
billion a decade ago to tals to electronically notify Silver Lake will also get a hind businesses like Face- reminiscent of Instagram
help hospitals and doctors a patient’s outside doctors board seat. book and Google in terms and Facebook “stories”
convert to computerized when that patient is admit- Prior media reports had of user growth and adver- and Snapchat’s snaps,
records. But it never solved ted, discharged or trans- suggested Elliott was plan- tising revenue. CEO Jack which let users post short-
the problems of getting the ferred. ning to nominate four peo- Dorsey left the company to lived photos and mes-
different medical systems The hope is that easier ac- ple to Twitter’s board and start payments company sages. Such features are
to seamlessly interact, and cess and authorized shar- oust Dorsey. Square Inc., but returned increasingly popular with
of providing a pathway for ing of individuals’ health But the new agreement in 2015. Now he splits his social-media users looking
patients to easily access care information will help makes it seem likely he will time between Square and for smaller groups and and
their records. Two rules fi- prevent medical errors, stay. Twitter has lagged be- Twitter. The new feature is more private chats.q