MOORESVILLE, N.C., February 21, 2023 (Newswire.com) - The Hemp Doctor is proud to announce Platinum Sponsorship of the 2023 High Times Hemp Cup. During a time of shutdowns, High Times re-invented their classic Cannabis Cup to include a People's Choice Edition to allow everyone at home to participate. 

This competition is unlike any other in the industry in that it allows individuals who use the products to determine what products are best. Whether consumers choose to partake in the judging or not, the results are as democratic and unbiased as possible. 

Judging kits went on sale on Friday, Feb. 10 and are available for purchase while supplies last. Kits are available for consumers to choose which categories they'd like to sample, including psychoactive and non-psychoactive hemp-derived products. More than 200 kits of each category are available for sale for the 2023 Hemp Cup. 

The 2023 High Times Hemp Cup is the third-ever competition of its kind that's open to the nationwide public. The goal of this competition is to recognize the best hemp-derived products in the USA. The Hemp Cup is open to a wide range of categories, including edibles, vapes, flower and pre-rolls, capsules, and tinctures. There will be a variety of hemp-derived, legal psychoactive products sampled, including Delta 8, Delta 10, HHC, THCV, and more. A range of non-psychoactive CBD products will be available for sampling as well.

In addition to sponsoring the competition, The Hemp Doctor is submitting their best-performing products for judging. These three CBD entries include the Full Spectrum Gummy in Non-psychoactive Hemp-Derived Edibles, The lemon-flavored full-spectrum 2800mh High Octane Tincture in the Non-psychoactive Hemp-Derived Tinctures category, and the one gram vape cartridge in the Hemp-Derived Concentrates and Vape Pens category. 

The Hemp Doctor is also submitting four products in the legal psychoactive categories. For the Legal Psychoactive Flower and Pre-Rolls, they are submitting the Delta 8 Happy Daze and Delta 8 Witches Brew prerolls. Both of these prerolls will be 1.75 grams. In the Legal Psychoactive Concentrates and Vape Pens, they're submitting three entries: two surprise flavors of the 3-gram disposable vapes and a surprise of the 2-gram vape cart. In the Legal Psychoactive Edibles, The Hemp Doctor is submitting three samples of the THC Blended Gummies. And three sample products will also be provided for the Legal Psychoactive Edible/Non-Gummy category as well. 

Judging kits are on sale now at hthempcup.com and all judging is due to be completed by April 2, 2023. On April 16, 2023, High Times will be holding an award show to announce best in class for each category. 

The Hemp Doctor, a North Carolina-based American company, is passionate about how hemp can change lives. Selling only organically grown products that are made in the USA, The Hemp Doctor was founded by Robert Shade. He was inspired when he saw how hemp helped his family recover from a catastrophic car accident and wanted to create a place for more people to find their hope and recovery. 

BALTIMORE, February 21, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Over 59 million patient records were breached in 2022 according to a new report released today, the Protenus Breach Barometer®. Published by Protenus, a healthcare compliance analytics company that protects patient data for the nation's leading health systems, the annual report is the industry's definitive source for health data breach reporting review. 

In 2022, the healthcare industry remained altered by the effects of the pandemic and The Great Resignation, resulting in nursing turnover, ongoing staffing shortages, increased remote and hybrid work, financial pressures, and increased "mega mergers". Cybercriminals have long targeted healthcare's vulnerabilities, and the continuing industry disruption created opportunities for exploitation. There were 956 reported health data breaches in 2022, up 5% from 905 reported in 2021, however the number of patient records breached increased 18% year over year to nearly 60 million.

Download the full report here.

The Breach Barometer also notes that insiders continue to be a risk, accounting for one in 10 healthcare data breaches. Insider behavior often gives outsiders a foothold for improper access to patient data and may have provided an entryway for the many hacking incidents behind the majority of 2022 breaches. Records breached by insider error alone skyrocketed 141% last year. 

Nick Culbertson, CEO and Co-Founder of Protenus, stressed the importance of reducing insider risk, "A preventive, proactive approach is the only way to mitigate the significant breach risk insiders pose. Healthcare organizations need to look at whether they're truly able to monitor every access to patient data every day. The financial cost of a breach is staggering, but the reputational damage and impact on patient safety will have serious repercussions on affected healthcare organizations and their patients for years to come."

Incidents included in the analyses for this report were compiled and analyzed by DataBreaches.net, with additional research and analyses by Protenus.

Protenus' AI-driven patient privacy monitoring and drug diversion surveillance solutions help hospitals and health systems ensure health data is safe and being used appropriately. Founded in 2014, Protenus was awarded 2023 Best in KLAS for both patient privacy monitoring and drug diversion surveillance solutions, named one of 2021 CBInsights Digital Health 150, is a three-time winner of Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers, and was named one of The Best Places to Work in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare and one of the Best Places to Work in Baltimore by the Baltimore Business Journal and the Baltimore Sun. 

About Protenus

Protenus harnesses the power of AI to provide healthcare organizations with scalable risk-reduction solutions that drive the safest patient outcomes while protecting the reputation of the organizations. We are committed to innovation, determined to reduce risk, and focused on supporting our community of employees, customers, and ultimately, patients. Empowering healthcare to eliminate risk is at the heart of all we do. Learn more at Protenus.com and on Twitter @Protenus.

Northwind Pharmaceuticals
Northwind logo

INDIANAPOLIS, February 21, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Northwind has announced the addition of Jerry Ford to its strategic advisory board. 

"Healthcare is at an inflection point," said Phillip Berry, CEO. "Rising costs, barriers to access, struggles with quality, and a general sense of frustration, are driving self-funded employers to engage innovators like Northwind to help solve these problems."

"Jerry's extensive experience in leading one of the largest advanced primary care providers in the United States, his expertise in the challenges and opportunities facing our healthcare system, his heart for helping remove barriers to care, and his track record in scaling multiple high growth companies, are a perfect fit for our advisory board," continued Berry. "I am delighted to have the chance to engage his heart and mind in our mission."

Jerry Ford is currently a partner at Centerboard Advisors in Burlington, Vermont. Jerry served as CEO of Marathon Health from February 2008 through February 2021. Prior to joining Marathon Health, Ford was CEO and president of an Accel-KKR-owned company, Systems & Software. Ford also spent 15 years at IDX Systems Corporation, where he served as vice president of operations responsible for more than 300 large and complex healthcare delivery system customers.

"The Northwind core value of leaving it better than you found it is a value and a responsibility I believe we all have towards improving healthcare," said Ford. "Having known Phil for a long time, I appreciate the focus he and all at Northwind place on ensuring this core value is lived in spirit and achieved in action."

Northwind offers a national pharmacy services platform that brings the logistics of drug distribution and home delivery pharmacy together with analytics, pharmacy benefits, chronic disease programs, and software, to help self-funded employers create a Nexus of Care^TM to influence healthcare costs and outcomes for their plan members.

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. & LOS ANGELES, Calif., February 21, 2023 (Newswire.com) - DEXIS IOS, a leader in dental intraoral scanning; DTX Studio™ Clinic, DEXIS' open, integrated dental software suite; and SprintRay, a leading provider of dental 3D printers, have announced a joint commercial and integration arrangement to enhance the digital dental workflow. This collaboration will integrate DEXIS intraoral scanners and SprintRay Cloud Design Services through DTX Studio Clinic, simplifying the design and fabrication of various dental indications such as models, crowns, bridges, and surgical guides for in-house printing. The arrangement aims to provide more efficient, accurate, and predictable workflows, ultimately leading to improved patient care.

To further provide dental professionals with a comprehensive and efficient solution for their digital imaging, treatment planning, and 3D printing needs, DEXIS IOS and SprintRay have collaborated to offer packages that include DEXIS intraoral scanners, SprintRay 3D printers and DTX Studio^TM Clinic software. The companies will work to make their integrated solution more accessible and affordable to dental practices through these packages, facilitating its adoption.

"We are thrilled to work with DEXIS IOS to bring their advanced intraoral scanning technology to our customers," said Amir Mansouri, Co-Founder and CEO of SprintRay. "This collaboration will allow dental professionals to create accurate and detailed scans and produce high-quality appliances and restorations in-house with our cutting-edge design services and 3D printers, saving time and improving patient outcomes."

"DEXIS IOS is proud to work with SprintRay and bring our expertise in digital dental imaging to their innovative 3D planning and printing technology," said Amir Aghdaei, President and CEO of Envista Holdings Corporation. "Our goal is to collaborate to provide comprehensive solutions that improve efficiency, accuracy, and overall patient care."

This arrangement is an exciting development for dental professionals, and it demonstrates the continued commitment of both companies to improving the dental experience for patients and practitioners alike.

For more information about DEXIS IOS products and services, visit http://www.dexis.com or contact 888.88.DEXIS.

About DEXIS IOS

DEXIS IOS enhances the impact of dental expertise and clears away complexity from the digital workflow. Whether you are new to intraoral scanning or are an experienced advocate who wishes to upgrade, there is a DEXIS IOS Solution to precisely match your needs and provide simpler paths to better outcomes.

About DEXIS

DEXIS helps to transform practices and patient smiles — with a full portfolio of award-winning solutions for a comprehensive digital diagnostic workflow. From sensors to CBCT, intraoral scanning to implant planning, and NOMAD handheld x-ray to imaging software, practices throughout the world trust DEXIS for their digital imaging needs. Discover how DEXIS delivers for you. For more information, please visit http://www.dexis.com.

For Further Information

Hayley Reed, Regional Marketing Director, DEXIS IOS, Phone: (714) 628-8533, Email: [email protected]

About SprintRay

SprintRay is a leader in the dental 3D printing space, combining user-friendly design with highly functional tools for in-office production. The company sets itself apart with total alignment around one goal: to help dental professionals use 3D printing to revolutionize dentistry.

For Further Information

Matthew Thompson, VP Marketing, Phone: 800-914-9004, Email: [email protected]

DXIS00069

TAMPA, Fla., February 21, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Black Book polled healthcare professionals in Q2 2022 through Q1 2023 to develop the annual comprehensive industry report on the state of secure communications, recognizing top-performing vendors based on client experience and customer satisfaction indicators. The mission of Black Book's independent user surveys is to enlighten healthcare technology buyers on those industry vendors that perform beyond expectations, as reported by current and former customers at every user level in the organization they serve.

Spok®, a global leader in providing a unified, HIPAA- and HITECH-compliant mobile platform for messaging, calls, and alerts, earned top honors as the highest-rated product for a sixth consecutive year.

Black Book Market Research LLC measures customer satisfaction across 18 copyrighted key performance indicators: Strategic Alignment of Vendor Offerings to the Client's Mission and Goals; Innovation and Optimization; Training and Education; Client Relationships and Cultural Fit; Trust, Accountability, Ethics, and Transparency; Breadth of Offerings; Deployment and Implementation; Customization; Integration and Interfaces, Interoperability, and Connectivity; Scalability and Client Adaptability, Vendor Staff Expertise, and Performance; Reliability; Brand Image and Marketing Communications; Marginal Value Adds; Vendor Financial Viability and Managerial Stability; Data Storage Services; Support and Customer Care; and Best of Breed Technology and Process Improvement.

In total, nearly 7,000 cybersecurity system users and senior-level managers participated in the seven-month crowdsourced survey, including 1,104 CIOs, CISOs, and hospital IT security managers to track and trend user experience.

"Usability with clinical communications technology improves workforce satisfaction, and that, in sequence, improves patient care delivery," said Doug Brown, President of Black Book Research. "In addition, the methods for sharing sensitive health information in the last decade have multiplied exponentially, and advances in patient care now require extraordinary clinical communication and collaboration tools like Spok offers hospitals."

Nearly 100 percent of respondent CISOs and CIOs have made secure communications a priority in 2023. Eight percent report they have implemented process improvement teams at their organization that are working on mitigating security gaps in clinical workflow and improving mobility.

Based on IT management respondents, more than 29% of hospital data in Q4 2022 was being shared through unsecured methods.

Thirty percent of hospitals do not currently support HIPAA-compliant secure communications and messaging on any device, slightly down from 34 percent in Q3 2021. Twenty-five percent offer secure texting on hospital-issued devices only currently.

"The Joint Commission's review of sentinel event data is consistently identifying poor communications as a leading root cause of serious injury or death related to patient care," said Brown. "Many health systems, however, still need an uncomplicated yet broad and dependable digital communications technology to facilitate the prompt exchange of information to improve patient safety and quality."

About Black Book™

Black Book Market Research LLC provides healthcare IT users, media, investors, analysts, quality-minded vendors and prospective software system buyers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other interested sectors of the clinical technology industry with comprehensive comparison data of the industry's top respected and competitively performing technology vendors. The largest user opinion poll of its kind in healthcare IT, Black Book™ collects over 40,000 viewpoints on the healthcare industry's cybersecurity information technology and outsourced services vendor performance annually. Black Book™ is internationally recognized for over 15 years of customer satisfaction polling.

Black Book™, its founder, management and/or staff do not own or hold any financial interest in any of the vendors covered and encompassed in this survey, and Black Book™ reports the results of the collected satisfaction and client experience rankings in publication and to media prior to vendor notification of rating results.

Follow Black Book™ on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/blackbookpolls.

For methodology, auditing, resources, comprehensive research, and ranking data, see http://blackbookmarketresearch.com.