Doctor: “Nurse, please begin the scan.”

 

Nurse: “I’m sorry doctor, but I keep getting pop-ups with ads for porn sites.  I’ve already rebooted 73 times today.  I guess we’ll never know why the patient starts singing ‘Backstreet’s Back’ whenever the phone rings...”

 

Doctor: “Nonsense!  Never give up, never surrender!  Let’s try plan B.  I’ll round up some old photographic film, you grab a microwave from the kitchen, jam the door open and set it to ‘Shake ‘N Bake’!”

 

Is this how it played out in the Radiology department at one of the dozens of hospitals affected by the Conficker worm that infected their MRI Machines?  Perhaps.  But more important than the specific details of the workarounds put in place, is the simple fact that there is a serious threat to patient privacy and hospital security here.

 

So I’m sure you’re all aware that viruses can infect computers.  But did you know that there are many medical devices which are built AROUND standard Windows computers?  Well, MRI scanners happen to be one of them and just like your XP machine at home, these are vulnerable to infection if not properly protected.  So what are the consequences of having an MRI infected with Conficker?  Well, the virus is able to send data from the infected computer to a “command and control” server that is operated by the criminal network that created it.  That means that any files on that computer, including Protected Health Information, can be compromised.

 

Now most of you do not have MRI machines in your offices but there may be other equipment that is based on Windows.  Make sure to have us take a look and ensure that best practices are being employed to keep you protected!  If you want to read more about the MRI issues, you can do so here:

http://chattahbox.com/technology/2009/05/11/conficker-worm-infects-hospital-mri-machines/

 

And here:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/6402475.html

Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe, poe-tay-toe, poe-tah-toe... 

You say Electronic Medical Record, I say Electronic Health Record.  You say EMR, I say EHR.  Same difference, right?  Well, not exactly.  There is a technical distinction that is important to understand.  Electronic Medical Records are the legal record of the Care Delivery Organization (i.e. Doctor) and reflect the clinical services that were provided.  Electronic Health Records are a subset of the information in an EMR but span multiple CDOs and are owned by the patient.

In other words, the EMR is the detailed record of what a single doctor did to a patient (e.g. "Patient presented with paper cut on finger.  Removed affected arm and prescribed Oxycodone." or "Patient mutated into giant turtle after exposure to nuclear waste.  Treated with pizza and released.")  While the EHR is the history of all of a single patient's encounters (e.g. "Went to Dr. A because of pain in my beak.  Dr. A performed tests then referred me to a specialist.  Went to Dr. B on referral.  Dr. B performed more tests then referred me to another specialist.  Went to Dr. C on referral.  Dr. C performed even more tests then told me he was pretty sure I was a pigeon and should really see a vet instead.")

Right now EMR systems are becoming more common at the practitioner level and there really is no good EHR.  There are a few services available on-line but the government is looking to come up with a national system that will be compatible across all vendors.  To learn more, read this article:

http://www.himssanalytics.org/docs/WP_EMR_EHR.pdf

Doctor: “Nurse, please begin the scan.”

Nurse: “I’m sorry doctor, but I keep getting pop-ups with ads for porn sites.  I’ve already rebooted 73 times today.  I guess we’ll never know why the patient starts singing ‘Backstreet’s Back’ whenever the phone rings...”

Doctor: “Nonsense!  Never give up, never surrender!  Let’s try plan B.  I’ll round up some old photographic film, you grab a microwave from the kitchen, jam the door open and set it to ‘Shake ‘N Bake’!”

Is this how it played out in the Radiology department at one of the dozens of hospitals affected by the Conficker worm that infected their MRI Machines?  Perhaps.  But more important than the specific details of the workarounds put in place, is the simple fact that there is a serious threat to patient privacy and hospital security here.

So I’m sure you’re all aware that viruses can infect computers.  But did you know that there are many medical devices which are built AROUND standard Windows computers?  Well, MRI scanners happen to be one of them and just like your XP machine at home, these are vulnerable to infection if not properly protected.  So what are the consequences of having an MRI infected with Conficker?  Well, the virus is able to send data from the infected computer to a “command and control” server that is operated by the criminal network that created it.  That means that any files on that computer, including Protected Health Information, can be compromised.

Now most of you do not have MRI machines in your offices but there may be other equipment that is based on Windows.  Make sure to have us take a look and ensure that best practices are being employed to keep you protected!  If you want to read more about the MRI issues, you can do so here:

http://chattahbox.com/technology/2009/05/11/conficker-worm-infects-hospital-mri-machines/

And here:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/6402475.html

Hello!

Welcome to the David Carlos Blog.  This new blog will be a place to come and to learn, to be entertained and enlightened.  I will be covering a variety of topics including:

• The use of computers and other Information Technologies in Small Business environments
• The application of IT in the Health Care fields
• Pop cultural references (usually related to TV or movies)
• The Road to "The Way" (Initial thoughts on the book I plan to co-author with my friend Jared Cooper)
• My path to Fame and Fortune as I progress in the world of Television Hosting
• How the World Works

My goal with this blog is to accomplish 3 things:

1. To provide valuable information about subjects that are important to my clients
2. To entertain my audience
3. To share my passion for life, education and the pursuit of happiness

So I invite you now to join my ongoing mission to seek out new life and new civilization, to boldly go....  No wait!  That's someone else's blog!  Blue. No, yellllllllloooooooowwwwwwwww!

-David Carlos