Fitbit, a leader in health and technology, has recently introduced a new digital product to help individuals reach their goals faster with a more manageable approach.

Fitbit Care is a combination of the company’s popular fitness tracking devices with a new health coaching platform that addresses everything from wellness and prevention to chronic conditions and complex care management. Designed to promote wellness and improve disease management and prevention with tailored health and wellness services for a more personalized application. This exciting new enterprise attained through the acquisition of Twine Health, a small Boston-based software startup, will continue to support the fitness tracking Fitbit is known for while also addressing services like medication adherence, smoking cessation and managing chronic conditions.

Fitbit Care will be offered via the company’s business-to-business unit, Fitbit Health Solutions. Following in the footsteps of Apple and Amazon as they move into the healthcare system the health coaching platform was designed for integration into organizations with healthcare professionals on staff or businesses that include health plans, workforce health providers, and health systems. The Fitbit Care approach focuses on key tenets of behavioral psychology and learning science as the core principles of the application. By putting people at the center of their own health journey it offers personalized care with more sustainable behavior changes with offers better long-term results. at the core of the experience. Users enrolled in the care plans also have access to health coaches, who will offer personalized fitness and exercise plans along with other wellness advice. The coaching sessions are offered through remote communication and face-to-face meetings. Individuals who are enrolled in the health coaching component of Fitbit will have access to the new Fitbit Plus app, which allows users to track metrics including blood glucose, blood pressure, and medication adherence, both from Fitbit and other third-party connected devices. The social component of connecting through groups also encourages healthy behavior as users keep each other accountable, motivated and encouraged as they exercise together in social groups. This enables an entire team to participate in the health coaching experience.

According to the Fitbit Care website clients have seen dramatic increases in coach panel size, often upwards of 300% in some cases. The main goal is for users to have the ability to connect with their doctors through the Fitbit Care platform. This new premium fitness coaching feature will allow doctors to have the ability to check on a user’s daily metrics and stay up-to-date on the effectiveness of the treatment for specific issues. Essentially, Fitbit wants to be the one place everyone connects over health and supporting patients beyond the walls of the doctor’s office is a big step in this direction by providing accountability, support, guidance and resources that remove some of the most difficult barriers in healthcare outcomes.

Top Ways to Handle the End of Windows 7 in the Healthcare Industry

Microsoft will end its support for Windows 7 soon. Learn how this will affect your healthcare organization and what you can do to prevent security problems.  

Between the years 2009 and 2018, 189,945,874 healthcare records were either stolen or exposed because of cybersecurity breaches.

If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. In fact, “it equates to more than 59% of the population of the United States,” according to HIPAA Journal. Obviously, among healthcare organizations, cybersecurity has become a serious concern.

And it’s about to get worse.

In only a few months, the operating system that nearly all healthcare organizations in the United States utilize — Windows 7 — will lose support from its manufacturer, Microsoft.

Microsoft calls this the “end-of-life” for Windows 7, and it’s going to happen on January 14, 2020. The change will affect all businesses and individuals who are currently operating the Windows 7 OS, but healthcare organizations are especially at risk. That’s because this loss of support also means that the majority of Windows 7 medical devices will be running an outdated and unprotected version of Windows.

Fortunately, healthcare organizations can make changes now to avoid serious operating system and security problems in January of 2020 We’ll discuss how to transition to Windows 10 (the most up-to-date Microsoft operating system) in a moment. For now, let’s discuss what it really means that Windows 7 is losing support from Microsoft.

What Do “End-of-Life” and “Loss of Support” Really Mean?

“End-of-life” is the term Microsoft specifically uses to define the period when they will no longer provide software support for a specific application or piece of software. It’s the same as “loss of support.”

Both terms mean that “Microsoft will no longer provide the following:

• Technical support for any issues
• Software updates
• Security updates or fixes”

Why Would Continuing to Use Windows 7 Be Bad?

Most of the precautions surrounding Windows 7’s end-of-life revolve around cybersecurity.

Though you may not have realized it, for the past ten years, Microsoft has been constantly working on the security, efficiency, and fluidity of its Windows 7 operating system. The Microsoft team constantly provides updates and upgrades for Windows 7 users. Moreover, it monitors and troubleshoots possible cybersecurity issues, catching issues and breaches before they start.

Often, these patches and updates are keeping you and your healthcare organization from being breached by cybercriminals who would love to steal your money or get their hands on your data and hold it for ransom.

When Microsoft ends their support, this dam they’ve been maintaining goes away, and the influx of cybersecurity troubles may very well be at your doorstep as soon as the first day of the end of support.

How Can You Maintain Security Within your Healthcare Organization as the End-of-Life Day for Windows 7 Nears?

If your healthcare organization is still using Windows 7, you’re safe for now. But it’s time to start the transition to Windows 10 — Microsoft’s latest OS. You’ll want to start this shift as soon as possible as the change can instigate a sizable change in pace for your business and a considerable amount of expenses as well.

A good place to start is with your managed services provider. The designated IT specialists within your healthcare establishment will be able to help you transition smoothly and seamlessly from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

Is HIPAA Compliance Enough for Absolute Security?

HIPAA is designed to help healthcare organizations keep patient information secure, but is it enough? Find out where HIPAA could be lacking and what needs to be done for absolute protection.  

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is in place specifically to protect sensitive information in the healthcare operation. With a complex and diverse listing of standards regarding how information can be handled, how systems should function, and how things should be done within an organization, HIPAA does do a lot to protect patient information. While most organizations stick closely to these standards, there is no real way to certify you are actually compliant.

Sadly, the inability to check compliance and the lacking aspects of HIPAA compliance can lead to a cyber-attack or major data breach. Healthcare cyber-attacks cost as much as $1.4 million in recovery, so making sure compliance is where it needs to be and considering whether more needs to be done is important.

Reasons Why HIPAA Compliance Alone May Not Be Enough

Even though HIPAA policies and standards are generated to protect private and sensitive information in the healthcare industry, the truth of the matter is, HIPAA alone does not address every security concern. It is unfortunately not uncommon for a healthcare industry manager to foolheartedly put all of their faith in HIPAA compliance and completely miss that certain security defenses are missing.

In the most basic terms, HIPAA standards are designed to provide the most basic security setup in the healthcare industry. There is nothing stating that following these minimum standards will protect your healthcare business from every single threat there is where information security is concerned. Furthermore, cybersecurity threats evolve and develop so quickly that HIPAA doesn’t catch up fast enough to make much of a difference. Pair this with the fact that many healthcare organizations already struggle to keep up with newly developing security concerns associated with cloud data storage and the Internet of Things (IoT), and you have a lot of looming risk to speak of.

Rely On More Than Just HIPAA Compliance and Amp Up Security Efforts

Of course, HIPAA compliance is important, but it never hurts to up the efforts to make sure every aspect of the digital operation is secure and safe. There are multiple areas where security must be address in a healthcare organization’s digital infrastructure according to Health IT Outcomes, including:

• Controlling access to the system in a way that yields sensitive information only to those who would need to see it within the company
• Maintaining a stable protocol that dictates how risks are identified and handled on a daily basis
• Having an excellent security plan in place that acts as a go-to guideline for proper security practices
• Maintaining assets in a way that carefully documents the existing location of all assets, data, and other components of a system
• Implementing an information security incident management plan
• Controlling the physical hardware and keeping it secure at all times
• Organizing security plans that work for all aspects of the organization

Naturally, handling HIPAA compliance is also part of what is necessary, but as you can see by this detailed list, it is only one part of ensuring network security. It is not the only process to be considered for absolute security.

Final Thoughts On HIPAA Compliance and True Security

Even though HIPAA sets forth decent standards, the process of applying these standards to put them to work within a healthcare operation can vary considerably. Furthermore, some HIPAA compliance standards only cover the basic necessities of having a secure system. Unfortunately, these two facts can leave a healthcare facility with digital security concerns they have no idea exist. It is always a better idea to take things further than even HIPAA recommends to secure the system properly with the help of an IT managed services company and make sure all aspects are covered.

Blockchain Technology: Features and Limitations in Healthcare

Blockchain technology is meant to create a more streamlined data handling process for all of healthcare. Find out the blockchain advantages and limitations.  

More and more in the modern-day, business data is being examined as something that could benefit from the implementation of blockchain technology. Medical data interoperation between all care providers is considered to be like the holy grail of medical care. No barriers would exist between doctor’s offices, hospitals, or even pharmacists no matter where in the world they were located. Here is a bit about what you should know about blockchain technology in healthcare as a healthcare business owner.

Blockchain Features That Can Benefit Healthcare

There is good reason why companies like Medicalchain are getting in on blockchain technology. Blockchain technology brings with it a full list of advantages that are easy to assume and understand. Here is a shortlist of some of the most apparent blockchain technology advantages.

Blockchain Provides a Distributed Ledger of Patient Care

First and foremost, blockchain technology allows for a full ledger of patient care. If a patient goes to a hospital in one country while they are visiting, for example, their information would be completely accessible by their care provider. When that patient leaves a care provider, it would be completely possible for them to already have a followup appointment scheduled for when they get back home where their primary care physician is located.

Blockchain Data Is Stored In a Secure Way

Security is a huge concern in healthcare, and the nature of blockchain data makes it secure already. Therefore, companies that are implementing blockchain technology gain the advantage of those already-secure processes that keeps the patient’s data protected in the right way. Companies that struggle to comply with HIPPA regulations may see that things are not so difficult to achieve with blockchain technology in place even.

Blockchain Can Give Patients More Control Over Their Own Records

With blockchain, patients could potentially create their own rules around how their particular records are handled and shared, which is something that is limited in current healthcare data handling. For example, a patient could choose to make their current list of medications accessible to every provider so they never have to carry along their own list of medications to share or so every provider would already know what they are taking.

Blockchain Limitations That Can Be Problematic in Healthcare

So far, the real limitations of blockchain technology are lacking when you consider the advantages. According to Macadamian, there is one big limitation that has to be considered in blockchain technology where healthcare is concerned:

“Blockchain technology on its own is not sufficient to create a complete electronic healthcare record (EHR) solution.”

The primary limitation or concern comes in with pairing certain forms of cryptocurrency blockchain with healthcare operations. Cryptocurrency blockchains have this anonymity that is naturally attached because the actual name of a payer or payee never has to be revealed. For example, someone using something like Bitcoin never has to reveal their true identity during a transaction. Naturally, healthcare blockchains could not exist so anonymously; a patient’s identity would have to be revealed at some point in transactions and during the transmission of patient data to other providers. Therefore, there is a bit of a conflict there that exists between how blockchain technology is meant to function and how it would have to function in healthcare environments.

Final Thoughts On Blockchain Technology in Healthcare

Blockchain technology is consistently evolving and stepping its way into a lot of everyday processes. The technology could potentially revolutionize many processes of healthcare, and the ongoing implementation is proving that fact. There are some companies that are already experimenting with blockchain technology in the medical care environment, but the numbers of companies doing so are bound to grow in the coming years. The final thought is this: blockchain technology could very well make drastic improvements in healthcare. Therefore, it is well worth it to talk to a managed IT services provider to find out how blockchain technology could be used in your healthcare business.