September 2010

Homeland Security Launches Cyber Storm III

For three or four days this week, the Internet will come under a virtual attack from an unknown adversary, and it will be up to the government and private sector's coordinated efforts to root out the cause and work together to keep systems up and running -- at least within the simulated confines of the Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Storm III exercise, which begins Sept 28.

The Cyber Storm series of exercises simulates large cyber attacks on critical infrastructure and government IT assets in order to test the government's preparedness. Specifically, this year's exercise will be the first time DHS will test both the draft National Cyber Incident Response Plan (an effort to provide a coordinated response to major cybersecurity incidents) that will be publicly released later this year and the new National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (the hub of DHS' cybersecurity coordination efforts). This year's exercise will be the largest yet, including representatives from seven cabinet-level federal departments, intelligence agencies, 11 states, 12 international partners and 60 private sector companies in multiple critical infrastructure sectors like banking, defense, energy and transportation. High-level officials, including federal cybersecurity coordinator Howard Schmidt and deputy homeland security secretary Jane Holl Lute, will be among those taking part.

Free Press raises flag over "corporate propaganda"

Free Press wrote the Federal Communications Commission to decry the use of undisclosed commercials on television news programs, a practice they claim is increasingly prevalent.

Free Press policy counsel Corie Wright cited a series of stores by the Los Angeles Times as evidence local TV stations are airing paid advertising under the guise of news in violation of the law. Wright pointed specifically to segments aired on KCBS 2 Los Angeles that were labeled "CBS Healthwatch" but were actually paid advertisements for a local medical center. "The problem of pay-to-play news is becoming an epidemic on the public airwaves," Wright said. "People rely on the news to make major decisions about their lives - including where to seek medical treatment or how to vote. They deserve to know when a newscast has been influenced by commercial considerations." Wright also pointed to an LATimes report regarding a lawyer and self-proclaimed "toy expert" named Elizabeth Werner, who was paid by toy companies to promote their products on local newscasts. Wright said viewers deserve to know when so-called experts are paid to promote the products they tout.

AOL buys TechCrunch, 5min Media

AOL will buy technology blog TechCrunch, one of the most influential blogs in Silicon Valley, as the Internet giant looks to expand its offerings of critical content to its audience. AOL also bought Web video-syndication company 5min Media in an attempt to make its own video content more widely available.

The acquisitions show that AOL, spun off from media giant Time Warner Inc., is doubling down on ad-supported web media content, a business that has largely been a disappointment for the traditional media industry, which is shifting toward online subscription models as a way to generate revenue from digital businesses. For its part, AOL has recently hired hundreds of writers to create more original news and local and entertainment content while it aggressively restructures its mix of assets during sharp declines in revenue and profits.

Founded in 2005, TechCrunch and its network of websites now reach over 10 million unique visitors and draw more than 33 million page views per month. It operates a global network of dedicated properties from Europe to Japan, as well as specialized industry websites including MobileCrunch, CrunchGear and GreenTech.

EU Announces Major Investment In IT Research

The European Commission will be investing more than $1 billion in 2011 in information and communications technology research aimed at boosting Europe's competitiveness. The commission, the European Union's regulatory arm, said the funding (780 million Euros) would go toward research focused on the Internet, robotics, smart and embedded systems, photonics, energy efficiency technologies and health. The effort is part of a commission goal of increasing information and communications technology research and development funding by 20 percent every year until at least 2013. Among the areas targeted for funding include $162 million (120 million Euros) for research and development into networking, digital media and service infrastructure for the future Internet.

ONC completes nationwide system to assist doctors and hospitals in switching to electronic health records

David Blumenthal, M.D., national coordinator for health information technology, announced selection of the final Regional Extension Centers (RECs), completing a national system of 62 organizations that will help physicians, clinics and hospitals to move from paper-based medical records to electronic health records (EHR). Two new awardees were named to cover Orange County (CA) and the state of New Hampshire. In addition, service areas were expanded for two already-named Florida RECs, completing RECs coverage of all areas of the country.

New awardees announced , with award amounts covering two years, are:

CalOptima Foundation covering Orange County, Calif. ($4,662,426)
Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative covering the state of New Hampshire ($5,105,495).

"The selection of these final awardees means that Regional Extension Centers are now in place in every region of our country to help health providers make the switch from paper-based medical practice to electronic health records," said Dr. Blumenthal. "For primary care physicians and smaller hospitals in particular, the RECs will be an important resource to help meet the challenges of adopting EHRs and using them to deliver better care."

ONC promotes use of health care CIOs in training effort

The Office of the National Coordinator and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) encouraged regional health IT extension centers (REC) to work with CHIME member CIOs to help providers adopt certified electronic health records.

In a joint letter to REC project officers, national health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal, , and Richard Correll, the chief executive officer of CHIME, offered to connect RECs with CIOs in their state who have deployed EHRs in their organizations. CHIME fosters the sharing of best practices and strategies for developing information exchange and state-level cooperation. CHIME CIOs also have managed vendor relations, incorporated technology into practice workflows and established privacy and security policies to comply with regulatory requirements, according to the letter published Sept. 24. ONC has funded the creation of health IT extension centers to supply local technical assistance to physicians and small practices to digitize their records and participate in health information exchange to meet meaningful use requirements.

Indiana University given $4M to study health IT ethics, law

The Lilly Endowment -- a private family foundation created by the founders of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. -- has given Indiana University $4 million study the legal, ethical and social implications of the use of health information technology.

The funds will support the creation of the Center for Law, Ethics and Applied Research in Health Information (CLEAR Health Information). The center will be a collaboration between the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, part of the Pervasive Technology Institute at IU, and the IU School of Medicine's Center for Bioethics. CLEAR will also pull together university and state resources in health sciences, information technology, law, ethics and other disciplines to study the ethical, legal and social issues associated with the creation and sharing of electronic health information, according its principals.

Medicaid mobilizes for meaningful use

As if they didn't have enough on their plates, state Medicaid offices are now digesting the final version of the meaningful use rules so they can be ready to manage and monitor the flow of incentive payments to their home Medicaid providers who qualify for HITECH Act health IT subsidies.

State Medicaid offices must have systems in place to begin verifying meaningful use performance and processing lump-sum checks by May 2011, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will officially open the program to providers who meet certain criteria for deploying electronic health record systems. In 2011, the criteria include the requirement that at least 30 percent of a medical practice be devoted to caring for Medicaid patients and that providers adopt a new EHR system or upgrade an existing one. In subsequent years, providers will be asked to meet stepped-up objectives, including a record of prescribing at least 40 percent of all their prescriptions electronically.

Networks pulling ad inventory from Hulu

Advertisers are drawn to Hulu in part because the site is a popular place for fans to stream shows like NBC's "30 Rock" and "The Office." The trouble is, Hulu doesn't actually sell any inventory in those shows.

In fact, according to sources, Hulu isn't able to sell much inventory from NBC's primetime shows these days. That's because -- like a child grabbing for his favorite toy and shouting "Mine!" -- NBC has begun pulling back the maximum allowable amount of ad inventory within its shows on Hulu, as is such sister cable networks as USA and Bravo. Hulu's other broadcast partners, ABC and Fox, are following suit, according to buyers familiar with Hulu's operations, though NBC has been the most aggressive as it looks to capitalize on heavy demand for video and assert more control over its assets. Hulu is a joint venture among NBC Universal, News Corp. and Disney. The specifics of just how much inventory Hulu's network partners can retain is unclear. According to sources, networks can pull back 100% of ad inventory on two or three specified shows, which is what NBC does with "30 Rock" and "The Office." For other shows, the number is close to 85%. Having the broadcast nets pull back ad inventory is unlikely to put a major dent in Hulu's inventory volume. The site reached 27.1 million unique users who streamed nearly 1.4 billion videos in August, according to comScore. However, Hulu's brand has been built as the place to go for current hit TV shows. The site regularly commands CPMs in the range of the broadcast networks' Web video plays -- sometimes between $40 and $50. If Hulu becomes a place where buyers can only access older shows and movies, its stature could change.

Phone More Popular Than Internet When Seeking Prices For Health Care

If you want to know the price of something in health care, we wish you luck. There's no easy way to comparison shop. And the particulars of insurance coverage, if you're fortunate enough to have it, can add another confusing layer to cost questions. We wondered if smarter people had figured out a way to do this. And the folks at Thomson Reuters agreed to help us find out. In a survey they conducted early this month, more than 3,000 people told us about their experience shopping for health care. For better or worse, most people don't even bother to check out the costs before getting some sort of diagnosis or treatment. Someone in nearly 80 percent of the households surveyed received some sort of medical diagnosis or treatment in the past six months. But only 11 percent of those people bothered to look for prices first.

Benton

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