Administering medical care electronically makes a lot of sense. It’s a practical way for patients to receive care and for doctors to provide it. Advances in telemedicine, a type of medical practice that takes place without the doctor and patient sharing the same physical space, is increasing in popularity, and rightly so.

Some healthcare companies see HIPAA and other compliance regulations as a bane to their business, mainly because of the lengthy and complicated requirements. Poring over authorities’ regulations and ensuring that all areas of operations remain compliant call for a high level of expertise, something that small- and medium-sized businesses may lack.

Although totally necessary, data privacy regulations are often a gigantic headache. And king among the various compliance standards is HIPAA. Despite the legislation’s enactment back in 2003, the rules governing electronic medical records and protected health information continue to change and evolve every year.

Since the dawn of modern medicine, technological advances have been giving doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators better and better tools for treating the unwell since the dawn of modern medicine. This includes everything from the stethoscope to vaccinations to x-rays to present day integrated healthcare technologies.

Since 2011, the trojan Stegoloader has infected machines all over the U.S. with malware disguising itself as a pirated product key generator. Once deployed, the trojan steals electronic medical records and attacks system vulnerabilities. Although the healthcare industry has been the primary target, other businesses are not invulnerable.

Technology is constantly changing and evolving. And while many of these changes are designed to add convenience to people's lives, there is a chance that some technological advances can do much more. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a form of technology that may have the potential to do real good for humankind through applications in the healthcare industry.

The medical industry is one of the most data-rich business sectors of the 21st century. Patients that receive care have hundreds of data points associated with their medical history -- but how is this data being handled? In most cases, not carefully enough.

The tech industry is littered with buzzwords: overused jargon generally meant to inspire feelings of hope and accomplishment. Not all have positive connotations however, and data compliance is one of those spooky buzzwords that many small- and medium-sized businesses have scant specific knowledge about.

Ease of access, legibility, and accuracy are all key factors when you’re maintaining important business records. They’re even more important when it comes to the tracking of medical patients’ information. And thanks EHR, you no longer need to shuffle through reams of paper files, attempt to decipher doctors’ messy handwriting, or wonder if the data is up-to-date.

Corporate giants like Microsoft, Google and Apple are essentially cultural icons because their software and hardware innovations have been, dare we say, revolutionary. Similarly, in the not-too-distant future, we’ll be looking back and marvelling about how healthcare once existed without some of the radical-sounding technologies that are tantalizingly close to becoming reality.