MSN unveils health service

MSN has released a beta form of My Health Info, an "online service that helps people manage their health information on the Web," says Microsoft, according to eWeek.

The service "offers people a variety of tools and widgets [with which] to upload, organise and monitor health information stored in their personal Microsoft HealthVault accounts,” says the company.

HealthVault, which stores consumer health information, also allows consumers to collect and transfer their data across the health system. The My Health Info site is powered by Microsoft Silverlight.

According to a new report by Markets and Markets, a research and consulting firm, the healthcare IT systems market will be worth $53.8 billion by 2014, reports TMCnet.

The healthcare IT report presents the size of global healthcare information technology market over the period 2009 to 2014. The report studies the healthcare IT market with emphasis on key trends of the market.

The report segments the global healthcare IT market by components and geographic regions. It analyses the key market drivers, restraints and opportunities of this market.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is voicing concern over a controversial provision in a recently passed healthcare breach notification bill that gives healthcare companies considerable discretion on whether to disclose a data breach, says Computerworld.

The so-called "harm threshold" provision was included in an interim final rule published late last month by the US Department of Health and Human Services in a bill requiring breach notification for unsecured health information.

Under the provision, healthcare entities would have to publicly disclose data compromises only if they think the breach will cause financial harm to those whose data was compromised or hurt their reputation.