Barracuda Consulting, LLC

Written by: Kelly Buckman Most of us are familiar with this common scenario: An individual or a company employee is working in an application on their pc when a menacing message appears advising them that their computer has been locked and that they will have to pay a fee to regain access. It’s called ‘ransomware’, a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until an amount of money or ‘ransom’ is paid. Ransomware attacks are carried out through a technique known as crypto viral extortion, in which the victim’s files are encrypted, making them inaccessible until a ransom is paid to decrypt them. Since 2012, the prevalence of ransomware scams has grown globally. One example of ransomware, crypto locker was especially successful, extorting an estimated $3 million before it was removed by authorities. Another, Crypto Wall, was estimated by the FBI to have accrued over $18 million by June of 2015 (per Wikipedia). Pretty scary stuff for both the individual co...

Written by: Kelly Buckman Speed, quality, and cost, three very important factors in healthcare today. One important advancement that helps ensure that quality doesn’t suffer in the effort to care for patients in a timely and cost efficient manner is an incentive program designed to accelerate the transition to value-based care. Known as MACRA, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is a bipartisan legislation signed into law on April 16, 2015. In a nutshell, MACRA: -Repeals the Sustainable Growth Rate formula -Changes the way that Medicare rewards clinicians for value - over volume -Streamlines multiple quality programs under the new Merit -Based Incentive Payments System (MIPS) -Gives bonus payments for participation in eligible alternative payment models (APMs)* MACRA is rooted in the quest to improve healthcare through the sharing of health information. The most effective way to achieve this in today’s high tech world is through the electronic health recor...

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 telephon...