Health and Human Services

The Washington State Board of Health is facing protests after conspiracy theorists started a rumor that the board would order people to be put into quarantine facilities if they refused a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Maryland Department of Health said a ransomware attack is what disrupted its systems and services last month. Although officials didn't state much about the attack, they said the ransom wasn't paid.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health was forced to shut down six COVID-19 testing sites early due to a software glitch that crippled both patient registration and sample collection.

According to research, Washington's digital contact tracing app, WA Notify, plays a key part in COVID prevention. It gains about 2,000 users each week and utilizes Bluetooth to measure proximity between users.

The latest surge in COVID-19 cases has put a big strain on both public safety and health services in San Francisco. As a result, officials only want residents to call 911 if there’s a clear life-threatening emergency.

To make critical information readily available to residents so they can make informed decisions about COVID-19, San Bernardino County, Calif’s Dashboard Hub collates and visualizes data as conditions change over time.

Pending legislative approval, the state wants to use loan forgiveness and deferrals, scholarships, and potentially reducing the time it takes for clinicians to get licensed to help bring 10,000 counselors into schools.

Broward Health, a large public health system in Florida, has indicated that a data breach on Oct. 15 resulted in compromised patient and employee data. Broward Health hasn't revealed many details about the breach.

Maryland health officials haven't been able to report COVID-19 case data ever since the occurrence of a cybersecurity breach more than a week ago. It's currently unknown when the data reporting can resume.

The four-year-old Virginia-based startup, which works in the public health and human services arena, has bought out the nearly three-decade-old company for its claim and disbursement software.

Researchers at the University of Texas' Voice Lab found that virtual appointments present a challenge for speech therapists, because Zoom alters the intensity and loudness of a person's voice.

Avoiding the term "passport," Gov. Ned Lamont indicated Connecticut will roll out a digital health card for providing proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Lamont has said local communities should determine safety measures.

Last weekend, the Maryland Department of Health took its website offline after cyber criminals attacked the site. The site has been restored since, and officials say no data was stolen.

A 2020 data breach affecting nearly 69,000 San Juan Regional Medical Center patients has evolved into a class action lawsuit against the health-care provider. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Yesterday, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said an app that can show proof of a resident's COVID-19 vaccination status should be ready in a couple of weeks. State businesses can decide whether they require such proof.

The use of remote health services began to soar during the pandemic, opening the eyes of many medical providers and patients alike to telehealth’s convenience, efficiency and relative low cost.

Wapello County, Iowa, has taken strides in ensuring that its employees are training on cybersecurity, but the county still has work to do, as it falls below an 80 percent compliance rate.

Modernizing vital records management systems is essential for states not only during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also for increasing transparency and ease of access for constituents.