TechKnow | Volume #9 | March 3 2009

In This Issue:
News: Electronic Medical Records – How Safe Are They?
Education: Comments from Recent Students
Tips: Tech Toys

Cert-of-the-Week
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IT Jobs Resource Center
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Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) – How Safe Are They?

The Medical field may finally catch up to the 21st Century, according to Obama’s plan to aid health IT. It could be time to say goodbye to the colorful mess of manila folders and poorly written notes. Finally, one of the most innovative fields could evolve through technology to improve our healthcare system by reducing long-term costs, hopefully alleviating the human errors that stem from paper-pushing and increasing the effectiveness of our health expenditures. But will there be a price to pay?

The security and privacy of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are valid concerns for the following reasons:

  • Hackers could alter patient data or shut down entire clinical systems.
  • Misuse of EMRs by authorized users of EMR systems.
  • Private information could be bought and sold for places such as pharmaceutical companies.
  • Managing the data long-term.
  • Government or corporate intrusion into private health care matters.

As a recent article in Computer World states, this could all be easily fixed by using role-based access control (RBAC) mechanisms for more careful permissions. However, an accidental lack of viewing rights for a surgeon could be catastrophic in the operating room. And a large security breaches are likely since they wouldn’t be difficult to do since many EMRs are now connected to web applications.

IT professionals love challenges, and aiding our country in modernizing our prized healthcare system is the best test for security professionals. Many jobs will be created for this difficult task and it is up to you to be prepared for your calling. Test your IQ in security and look at what kind of salary security jobs have to offer.

You can get certification training in: Microsoft MCTS, MCSA and MCSE Security, Basic Linux, (ISC)2 SSCP and CISSP, Cisco CCENT, CCNA, CompTIA A+ and Security+, Checkpoint CCSA, GIAC and much more.

Comments from Recent Students

CBT XPress Boot Camps and our instructors are helping your fellow IT professionals learn what they need to know – FAST – in order to get them certified and back in the job market again. Our instructors are really what set us apart from all the rest. In fact, one of our students from a recent CompTIA A+ Boot Camp felt it was so important that we post his comment in order to give credit where credit is due:

Here is what he had to say about his experience:

"I just wanted to tell you thank you for the class. It was great! Our instructor was not just an instructor but a professional that took his job to the fullest. He recognized students like myself that needed that extra kick to get them to understand the material and did not stop there. If it were not for him, there wouldn’t have been as many passes as there were. I’ve had many other instructors but he is THE best I’ve ever seen. There are not many people like him that say they love their job and it’s obvious that they mean it!"

Hats off to him and the service that I received from CBT XPress. I hope to receive more help from you in the future. If there is some other place that I need to post this, please let me know so that the credit can go to the right people.

Al Foster

CBT XPress Certification Boot Camps include CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ Boot Camps; Microsoft MCITP Enterprise Administrator 2008; MCSE 2003; MCITP Messaging Administrator; Cisco CCENT and CCNA Boot Camps; for certification at the luxurious Safety Harbor Resort and Spa in Tampa Bay, Florida. For advice on CBT XPress Boot Camps, call 1-877-872-4646 Monday through Friday, 9am-6pm.

Tech Toys

SkyMall always has some interesting items in their magazine, especially when you’re stuck on a plane for five hours without a wireless connection. Here are a couple of things we felt were note-worthy:

Springflex UB - Being a couch potato isn’t as much of a problem as is being a desk potato these days. All these tech toys and using your computer all day long can make for some pretty lazy days exercise-wise. How about getting a work-out without leaving your computer? Give yourself some added upper body strength to endure those long surfing days. The Springflex easily attaches to your desk and offers over 120 exercises to do while you’re surfing the web. Lack of time is no excuse.



Home Theater Watch - Sure, smartphones and little laptops are great to watch your favorite flick, but what if you could watch a movie without having to carry anything with you? Introducing the Home Theater you can wear! Your new watch doubles as a full-length feature film theater, with 2GB of built-in storage, plus it can play MP3 and WMA audio files and display JPEG images. Relax in the doctor’s office and watch time fly by with this 1.2 inch screen and 260K color display capability. Time no longer has to stand still when you’re staring at your watch!