Category: Education

In the age of technology and data collection, the privacy and protection of data is a priority for both those who collect and those who utilize data. A Data Use Agreement (DUA) is a useful tool for the transfer of non-public data or use-restricted data that has been developed by private, government, or nonprofit organizations. What is a Data Use Agreement? A DUA, also sometimes called a data transfer agreement (DTA), is a legal contract that serves to protect data and confidentiality. It lays out the terms under which an entity – like a university or research center – can Read More …

Why do we care about patents? If you create something – whether it’s a medical device, a new type of shoelace, or a better method of washing clothes – you have the chance to protect your idea and earn money off it. A patent is a publicly available, government-issued document that gives certain rights to an invention, such as preventing others from making, using, or selling your invention. Patents provide crucial protection to intellectual property, the intangible creations of the human intellect. When you apply for a patent, it’s processed within the administrative and legal framework of the patent office. Read More …

Technology has become an integral part of our lives – including medicine. Now, healthcare industries are harnessing novel innovations, including artificial intelligence (AI), to improve many aspects of care. AI has been applied in patient diagnosis and monitoring, treatment protocol development, radiology, and drug development. While some of this might seem like science fiction, medical professionals use it every day to better the lives of their patients. How AI improves healthcare AI allows us not only to analyze data, but also to find their subtle and complex patterns. Machine learning algorithms, specifically, are responsible for these advancements. Engineers have developed Read More …

Informed consent is the process of obtaining a patient’s or participant’s permission prior to conducting a medical procedure or investigation on said person. It involves ensuring that the participant completely comprehends and agrees to the potential consequences of any procedures that they will undergo. Examples include, a health care provider asking their patient to consent to a surgical procedure before providing it, or a psychologist discussing information about the study with a future research participant prior to enrolling them into an experimental study. As such, informed consent is collected according to guidelines from the fields of medical ethics and research Read More …

PHI stands for Protected Health Information and encompasses all information acquired during health care services that could potentially be used to identify an individual. PHI does not only include medical records, but also communications between medical personnel regarding treatment, billing information and health insurance reports. For information to be formally considered PHI under the law, it must be created, received, stored, or transmitted by HIPAA-covered entities. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), covered entities are limited in the types of PHI they can collect from individuals, share with other organizations or use in marketing. HIPAA-covered entities include Read More …

As medical care becomes increasingly sophisticated, the successful transfer and utilization of patient records is critical for providing the best outcomes. The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource (FHIR), developed by the nonprofit group Health Level 7 International (HL7), is the latest standard for such data. FHIR seeks to transform the way patient data is used by giving everyone from doctors to developers the opportunity to view and build on it in unprecedented ways. Before FHIR, standards for sharing patient data could roughly be compared to PDFs. Health care providers receiving a report from another doctor could see the doctor’s notation, but Read More …