September 2014

[Commentary] Even before Apple announced a smartwatch that can measure someone’s heart rate and the number of steps climbed in a day, wearable devices and mobile apps that log your every move and vital sign were growing in popularity. Apple’s size and influence as a trendsetter has now focused attention on the privacy implications of these machines and software. No amount of caution can truly take the place of strong privacy laws that give consumers control over what kinds of data companies collect about them and what businesses can do with it, something President Obama called for in 2012. Federal lawmakers have not passed such legislation, in large part because businesses that collect and use private data for targeted marketing have lobbied aggressively to preserve the status quo. The country should welcome innovative health devices but should also make sure that they do not becomes tools to invade individual privacy.

It's no secret that many physicians hate the electronic-medical-records systems they use, saying they are cumbersome, poorly designed and detract from patient care. Amplifying those concerns, the American Medical Association is calling for a major overhaul of EMR systems to make usability and high-quality patient care a higher priority.

"The health system desperately needs working information technology to help support quality care," said AMA President-elect Steven Stack. "The current generation of EMRs and the way they are deployed is not supporting the quality of care we need it to." Dr. Stack blamed the federal government's Meaningful Use program for requiring EMR systems to serve too many functions and forcing the fledgling EMR industry to develop too quickly to respond to users' concerns. The program, which offers hospitals and doctors some $35 billion in incentive payments if they met ambitious timetables, has spurred rapid adoption of EMRs. As of Jan. 1, 2014, more than $19 billion in incentive payments have been distributed to 347,000 eligible hospitals and health-care professionals. But only about 10% of eligible providers have qualified for the next, stricter round of Meaningful Use requirements to date. Doctors and hospitals that haven't adopted EMR systems will face cuts in Medicare reimbursements starting in 2015.

Berlin is calling on Google to disclose details of the secret formula that has allowed it to monopolize web search in Europe, in a move that is likely to be welcomed by competitors and fiercely resisted by the US tech company.

Germany’s justice minister Heiko Maas said Google had to become more “transparent” about the algorithm used to create search engine rankings. Robert Kimmitt, a former US ambassador to Germany, criticized the demand. European companies and countries, in particular an export-driven economy like Germany “that needs open markets for its innovative products and services, should be concerned about calls for appropriation of intellectual property,” he said.

Fight for the Future, parked an 11-foot-wide video billboard outside the Federal Communications Commission headquarters and played videos urging the FCC to take a strong stance toward requiring network neutrality. Meanwhile, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association launched a radio, print and Web ad campaign urging the agency to maintain a “light touch” in considering any regulation, a position also taken by former-Sen John Sununu (R-NH) and former-Rep Harold Ford Jr (D-TN), at a press conference in behalf of Broadband for America. New comments were extensive.

The Writers Guild of America-West's comments included examples of what it called the entertainment industry successes possible with open Internet. In one, Margaret Dunlap, writer and co-executive producer of the Emmy award-winning Web series ”The Lizzie Bennet Diaries,” said her show, which had no corporate backing, no studio and no network partnerships, was possible because of the open Internet and Net Neutrality. “We were posting episodes of our show exactly the same way that someone would put up a video of their cat,” she said. “But thanks to the Open Internet and Net Neutrality, our videos loaded just as quickly and played just as well as anything on Netflix, Hulu, or NBC.com. That level playing field allowed an underserved audience to find and embrace the content that spoke to them, no matter where it came from.”

In another, Ruth Livier, writer and creator of “YLSE,” wrote that after she created the concept for the show in 2010 and presented it at one event designed to nurture Latino talent, she was asked: “Who is going to watch this?” She returned to the script in 2008 after technology changed. “The Internet suddenly put worldwide distribution at our fingertips,” Livier said. “It all seemed too good to be true. But, it was true. And it was good. And it changed everything. We suddenly had unprecedented access to create, produce and distribute our content. In this exciting new frontier of a neutral non-discriminatory Internet, anyone could finally tell their stories from their point of view without getting discouraged, derailed or having their vision diluted.” “The bottom line is, as long as the digital space remains neutral and does not go the way of traditional media, we will never again be disregarded by anyone who essentially asks, ‘Who are you to have your story be told?'” she said in WGA-W comments.