Barracuda Consulting, LLC

Written by: Kelly Buckman An elderly woman living alone with limited mobility dials into a teleconference to receive physical therapy via digital monitoring A new mother living in a remote rural area dials into a tele-session to receive assistance with breastfeeding Two physicians 1200 miles apart meet over video conference to review a patient’s X-rays. These scenarios are all examples of ways Telehealth is used in the modern age. Telehealth is most commonly defined as “the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies” ( www.hrsa.gov ). The terms ‘Telehealth’ and ‘Telemedicine’ are often used interchangeably, but there are subtle differences, in that telemedicine involves using telecommunication and information technology to provide clinical health care whereas ‘Telehealth’ is a broader term encompassing non-clinical (i.e., administration and provider education), as well as clinical implications. It may surprise y

Written by: Kelly Buckman Those of us working in the field of Healthcare IT are often intimately familiar with HIPAA regulations and their impact on our day to day operations.  But in the course of working to resolve problems for our customers, how often do we really think about the pitfalls of sharing healthcare related information amongst ourselves and others? Usually, this takes the form of screenshots, samples of reports, data files, etc. I can’t count the number of times I’ve emailed a screenshot of a software-created object to one or more of my co-workers in the course of collaborating on an issue (“Have you seen this before?”), or a customer contact to triumphantly demonstrate that I’ve resolved their data or server-related issue. (“Look, it’s fixed.  You’re welcome!”) But very often, the data transferred back and forth contains PHI (Protected Health Information) or PI/PII (Personal Information/Personally Identifiable Information) such as name, address telephone number,