The Fundamental Problem of Network Insecurity
The Internet was not designed for security, and neither were most computers. This was a feature, not a bug; security slows down communications and interferes with convenience. There was no real demand for security until the vulnerabilities of these systems became painfully obvious. (Ed. This article discusses many important issues on information security.)

Not Just Child's Play
Welcome to the upside of computer games. Their legendary powers of distraction and ability to create synthetic worlds are turning one of the most popular--and disparaged--entertainment media into a promising and potentially powerful medical tool. Long derided as the enemy of health for transforming children into weapon-loving, overweight zombies, computer games are now proving effective for everything from reducing pain and managing chronic disease to treating post-traumatic stress disorder and promoting fitness and exercise.

Computer based medication error reporting: insights and implications
Despite clear imperfections in the data captured, medication error reporting tools are effective as a means of collecting reliable information on errors rapidly and in real time. Our data suggest that administration errors are at least as common as prescribing errors in children.

Managed Storage Services: The SSP Model
A SSP provides computer storage space and associated management services, including periodic backup, archiving, disaster recovery and consolidation of data from multiple locations to facilitate the sharing of data between sites. In today’s marketplace, outsourcing storage management to a storage service provider (SSP) is an attractive option for many healthcare facilities.

Intel Designs Mobile Platform to Help Enhance Patient Safety, Ease Nurse and Physician Workloads
Products based on the mobile clinical assistant platform could offer a variety of features and technologies including: an exterior casing that can be wiped clean with disinfectant; radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for rapid user and patient identification; and barcode scanning to help reduce medication-dispensing errors. The platform could also include a digital camera to enhance patient charting and progress notes; Bluetooth technology to record patient vital signs; wireless connectivity to access electronic medical records systems.

Personal digital assistants change management more often than paper texts and foster patient confidence
EMRs accessed paper (n = 131) or personal digital assistant (n = 181) information on 92.3% of patients (n = 17, both). They accessed personal digital assistant on 61.4% of patients vs. 44.5% with texts. Mean access times were 9.3 and 9.4 s, respectively, +1.4 for both. Personal digital assistant access was 75%/25% between pharmacopeia and clinical resource. Personal digital assistants changed drug choice in 21.5% of patients, and other management (diagnosis, treatment or disposition) in 8.3% of patients.

U.S. Government Names New Interim Health IT Czar
Dr. Robert Kolodner was named interim National Coordinator For Health Information Technology, succeeding Dr. David Brailer. The national coordinator of health IT is a sub-cabinet position that was created by executive order in 2004 by President Bush. That year, Bush also set out the goal for most Americans to have electronic health records by 2014.

Insurer rolls out new technology for personal health record management
UnitedHealthcare is preparing to introduce an innovative identification card that contains both the member's account information and medical history. The Philadelphia-based insurer will begin rolling out the cards in January, which will allow members, including some 130,000 people in Western Pennsylvania, to convey key health and account information with a swipe of the card.

Study: Nurses Not Trained for IT
One of the most surprising findings was that one-quarter indicated they had received no IT training on the job over the last year, while another 56 percent said they had gotten only between one and eight hours of IT training. When asked what would have the greatest impact on improving their use of IT in their job, 55 percent responded that more training would help.