The FBI Warns Against More Cyber Attacks on U.S. HospitalsMedscape - Amid recent reports of hackers targeting and blackmailing healthcare systems and even patients, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other agencies have issued warning of "imminent" cyberattacks on more US hospitals. A new report released by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), part of the Department of Homeland Security, notes that the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have "credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to US hospitals and healthcare providers. " Read more here... Comments Being Accepted Now: Expanding Age for Colorectol Cancer ScreeningU.S. Preventive Services Task Force has posted a draft recommendation statement, draft evidence review and draft modeling report on screening for colorectal cancer in adults including a proposal to lower screening age from 50 to 45. Comments are being accepted until Monday, November 23, 2020. HHS Delays Information Blocking Rule Compliance to AprilHHS - Responding to public health threats posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) released an interim final rule with comment period that extends the compliance dates and timeframes necessary to meet certain requirements related to information blocking and Conditions and Maintenance of Certification (CoC/MoC) requirements. AAFP Vice President and Chief Medical Informatics Officer Steven Waldren, M.D., M.S., anticipated this development. “We have been waiting to upload content on our website, confident this rule would change the timelines,” he told AAFP News after HHS’ announcement. “And even if it did not, there are no current penalties for physicians for information blocking.” Read more from AAFP here... AAFP Lauds Bill That Would Relieve Some PPE ExpensesThe AAFP has voiced its support for legislation that would deliver much-needed financial relief to small primary care practices burdened by high costs for personal protective equipment as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The Small Business PPE Tax Credit Act (H.R. 7216) would allow small businesses to deduct from their taxes up to $25,000 of the cost of acquiring PPE. The legislation, the AAFP said in an Oct. 28 letter, takes “a critical step toward ensuring solo and small family physician practices have access to qualified personal protective equipment to continue operating during the ongoing pandemic.” Read more... Last Chance to Register!
|