Including the recent cyberattacks on Change Healthcare and Ascension, security incidents are becoming increasingly common in healthcare. Reported events doubled between 2016 and 2021, causing delays in care, issues with billing, and problems for surrounding hospitals.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently stepped in as a main guardian of healthcare data, setting policies and cracking down overall on companies that have leaked personal information.

The most commonly known healthcare information protection law is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects medical records and personally identifiable health information. But some healthcare and data experts say the current privacy laws don’t do enough to protect data in a rapidly digitizing industry.

When a case falls outside of the current laws, the FTC investigates companies that release personal information—while also taking on Ticketmaster and Amazon, of course.

Ryan Mehm, an attorney in the FTC’s privacy and identification division, told Healthcare Brew that the FTC has a “great responsibility” to protect and secure consumer data privacy.

Keep reading here.—CM

It’s the 21st century. We have 3D printing, blockchain, e-readers—sophisticated tech galore. The experts at Philips believe it's about time we apply sophisticated tech to the world of patient monitoring.

The key is centralizing mission-critical systems at the IDN level. What does that look like in practice? A health system that centralizes patient monitoring software and can deploy a single instance across the entire network of health facilities.

With its end-to-end monitoring solution, Philips helps care teams by providing ways to monitor and acknowledge alarms remotely. It also provides monitoring at bedsides, at the central station, and on caregivers’ smartphones.

That allows clinical teams to access patient data from more locations across the health system and gives them confidence that their patients are receiving the care they need.

Learn more about what’s possible for patient monitoring.

Moderna is making Covid and flu shots a two-for-one combo.

The Massachusetts-based biotech company announced that a Phase 3 trial of its combination Covid-19 and influenza vaccine, mRNA-1083, had a stronger immune response than the individual shots for both viruses.

“Combination vaccines have the potential to reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on health systems and pharmacies,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a press release. They could also “offer people more convenient vaccination options that could improve compliance and provide stronger protection from seasonal illnesses,” he said.

mRNA-1083 is made up of Moderna’s vaccine candidate for seasonal influenza as well as its next-generation Covid vaccine candidate, and the individual vaccines both previously had positive Phase 3 clinical trial results, according to the biotech.

Moderna did not confirm when it exactly plans to file for FDA approval, but wrote in an email to Healthcare Brew it is working with regulators on next steps based on the data. Successful Phase 3 trials are typically when a drug is moved forward for approval.

Keep reading here.—CM

Make monitoring make sense. There’s a smarter way to approach patient monitoring. Philips provides end-to-end patient monitoring solutions that centralize systems at the IDN level. This allows for standardized alarm configurations, digitized wave strips that are stored in the ERM, and more. See what else is possible.