Health and Human Services

Yesterday, Mississippi announced two new types of digital identification. The first is an app that allows Mississippians to use a digital driver's license. The second is a digital certificate of COVID-19 vaccination.

As companies need to free up transmission frequencies for 5G networks, their 3G networks will be shut down. Major 3G networks will be phased out at different points in 2022 depending on the service provider.

Vimo, which runs some of the largest state health insurance exchanges with its GetInsured software, has acquired the company for its health and safety net service delivery management technology.

A hospice care center in Lafayette, Colo., hosted a pilot study last week involving a humanoid robot named BEOMNI that can do things like take a patient's temperature with a thermometer.

A new public-private partnership in Staten Island, N.Y., has led to a program that uses predictive analytics to identify those who are most likely to experience a fentanyl overdose.

When COVID-19 broke out nationwide, the avalanche of related health data overwhelmed the federal government's outdated data infrastructure. More needs to be done if the country is to be ready for the next health crisis.

Gov. Phil Murphy rejected a bill that would reimburse doctors and other medical providers in New Jersey the same rate for telehealth services as they charge for in-person appointments, saying the cost may be too steep.

The Miami-Dade Women's Fund, a nonprofit organization, launched a gender equity dashboard that highlights a recent increase in the pay gap between men and women in Miami-Dade County, Fla.

Scientists have long known that ultraviolet light can kill pathogens on surfaces and in air and water. UV robots are used to disinfect empty hospital rooms, buses and trains; UV bulbs in HVAC systems eliminate pathogens in building air; and UV lamps kill bugs in drinking water.

Earlier this month, UMass Memorial Health, a health-care system in Worchester, Mass., informed 209,048 patients that their private information may have been compromised due to an email-related data breach.

Minnesota aims to have its simpler, more streamlined benefits application portal available statewide by the end of the year. The site’s deeper focus on user experience marks a growing trend for the state.

The funding will be used to purchase telehealth equipment and software licenses to increase access to care and services for CentraCare Health Systems in St. Cloud, Minn., according to a press release.

The external relations director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services accidentally emailed the private vaccination statuses of about 40,000 state employees to different news outlets.

County officials approved a $175,000 consulting contract to develop a strategic plan to expand broadband accessibility. Thousands of residents are without access to high-speed Internet service.

Visitors from California, Hawaii, Louisiana and Virginia will now be able to show proof of their COVID-19 vaccination status through New York's Excelsior Pass. The pass will soon accept proof from Washington state as well.

According to California health officials and advocates, disinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines on social media and some news outlets is a major cause of vaccine hesitancy and fear.

Various experts have suggested that states should spend opioid settlement dollars on data-focused technology. So far, states have been quiet on possible tech investments, citing other steps that must be taken first.

Bandwidth, a popular voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) company based in Raleigh, N.C., has dealt with outages over the last few days due to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.