Quoted: This latest case demonstrates again that poor physical security is a more prevalent cause of data breaches than remote hacking attacks. Most of the biggest data breaches reported over the past couple of years have resulted from laptop computers being lost or stolen.

Employers have started shifting more of the responsibility for health decisions and financing onto employees. It

How can the health–wealth industry players best approach this opportunity? The key lies in the framework of the financial planning life cycle, which has long driven the creation and marketing of consumer and business banking products. The four stages of that framework are

1. transact (to enable purchases when income is low),
2. borrow (to finance purchases),
3. accumulate (to ensure long-term security), and
4. protect (to pay now to avoid a big hit later).

Quoted: “Convergence is where I believe the industry is going. I think it could have as much potential as 401(k)s.” - José Becquer, executive vice president of the health benefit services group at Wells Fargo.

The new health–wealth business will evolve and change shape for at least the next couple of decades, as the retail health-care market coalesces and consumers take on more responsibility for their medical needs

Quoted: California health insurance providers were raking in more than $4.3 billion in profits in the last year. In addition, HMOs spent $6 billion on administrative costs according to a report by the California Medical Association.

The Georgia Department of Community Health has awarded IBM Corp. a $5.2 million contract to develop a transparency Web site for health care consumers across the state...build the infrastructure for the Atlanta-based agency's new site as well as integrate health care content from Mayo Clinic...

Quoted: The Web site will contain information on health care costs, quality of care and the availability of medical services at hospitals and clinics statewide. A Georgia official said the site will provide unbiased information that will allow for provider comparisons.

Quoted: Baby boomers are using Web-based services aimed at helping them care for their aging parents. The services can store important medical information, organize patients appointments and remind those living alone when to take their medication

...Caregiver Helper (caregiverhelper.com), a secure online community resource that houses information about medications being taken, emergency contacts, doctor's appointments, and even the patient's favorite activities.

...Web-based service companies like Lotsa Helping Hands (lotsahelpinghands.com) that offer an online calendar for organizing meals, appointments, and transportation; Care.com, which allows users to find caregivers based on ZIP codes; and Parent Care Call (parentcarecall.com), which makes phone

Quoted: Forrester Research lowered its expectations for U.S. and global IT spending for the second time in less than two months. The 28-page "Global IT 2008 Market Outlook" report released today predicts that U.S. business purchases of IT goods and services will grow by 2.8%, down from an expected 4.6% growth rate that Forrester predicted in December.

Emdeon and WebMD Health were formed two years ago, when the former WebMD Corp. spun off a portion of its flagship WebMD consumer health portal. The company sold its Emdeon Practice Services unit to Sage Software in late 2006.

Emdeon Corp. changed its name to HLTH to distinguish itself from Emdeon Business Services. HLTH Corp. announced that it had sold off its remaining interest in Emdeon Business Services.

Quoted: WebMD cited several reasons for lowering its revenue forecast, but the company singled out Microsofts potential purchase of Yahoo! even after reports that Yahoo! had rejected the bid. WebMD is uncertain how the potential buyout would affect its display deal with Yahoo!.