Spencer Dorn, a Vice Chair and Professor of Medicine at UNC, highlights a troubling shift in hospitalized patients' illnesses, noting fewer admissions for common conditions and more for complex issues like aortic graft and checkpoint inhibitor colitis. Supporting his observations, a population-based study indicates that current hospitalized patients are older, take more medications, and face a higher likelihood of having multiple active medical problems compared to patients 15 years ago. This trend, driven by an aging demographic and the increasing burden of chronic diseases, complicates care transitions and adds significant emotional and logistical challenges for families and the healthcare system.

Rising Complexity of Hospitalized Patients Challenges Healthcare Systems LinkedIn

Mystic Valley Elder Services has reported a data breach affecting approximately 87,000 individuals due to unauthorized access to its computer systems. The organization, which supports the elderly in Massachusetts, discovered the breach during a routine security assessment and has since taken steps to secure its systems, engage cybersecurity experts, and collaborate with law enforcement. Affected individuals have been notified and provided with resources, including credit monitoring services, to protect their personal information. The incident underscores the increasing risks of cyberattacks on healthcare and social service organizations and raises concerns about the security of sensitive data for vulnerable populations.

Massachusetts Elder Services Faces Major Data Breach Affecting 87,000 Individuals SecurityWeek

Research by Marieke Wieringa at Radboud University indicates that humans can exhibit feelings of pity towards robots displaying distress signals, such as sad sounds or trembling movements. In experiments, participants showed reluctance to mistreat robots that appeared to experience pain, highlighting a disconnect between their understanding of robots as inanimate and their emotional responses. Wieringa’s study raises ethical concerns about the potential for companies to exploit this empathy, drawing parallels to the 1990s trend of Tamagotchis, and emphasizes the need for regulations to prevent harmful manipulation of vulnerable individuals by emotionally expressive robots.

Humans Feel Pity for Robots: Ethical Concerns Emerge from New Research International Business Times

Cherilyn Pascoe, Director of the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at NIST, underscored the critical need for trust and collaboration in cybersecurity during her keynote at the HIMSS24 Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum. She discussed NIST's longstanding role in developing security standards, including the advanced encryption standard, and emphasized the importance of incorporating trust in technology for societal benefit. Pascoe highlighted NIST's recent update of the Cybersecurity Framework to Version 2.0, developed with input from various sectors, and noted the collaboration with 34 healthcare organizations to improve cybersecurity practices. She also outlined specific projects focused on securing telehealth ecosystems and genomic data cybersecurity.

NIST's Pascoe Urges Trust and Collaboration in Healthcare Cybersecurity Healthcare IT News