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07/19/2010

EHR and HITECH updates

Electronic Health Records Update

Today, CMS and ONC jointly announce their final rules for both electronic health record standards for certification and the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs, including the definition of meaningful use.

Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, eligible health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt certified EHR technology and use it to achieve specified objectives.  One of the two regulations announced today defines the “meaningful use” objectives that providers must meet to qualify for the bonus payments, and the other regulation identifies the technical capabilities required for certified EHR technology. 

Announcement of today’s regulations marks the completion of multiple steps laying the groundwork for the incentive payments program.  With “meaningful use” definitions in place, EHR system vendors can ensure that their systems deliver the required capabilities, providers can be assured that the system they acquire will support achievement of “meaningful use” objectives, and a concentrated five-year national initiative to adopt and use electronic records in health care can begin.

To read the Press Release issued today (7/13) click here:  http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp or http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/2010.html

Also CMS Issued Fact Sheets (7/13) with additional details at: http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp

To learn more about the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs, visit the CMS-dedicated website to this program, http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/ .  Here you’ll find information about eligibility, requirements, upcoming events and more. To learn more about electronic health records and certification standards, visit the HHS/ONC-website at http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt . This website is the premier place to learn about the benefits of using EHR technology in a meaningful way, local resources to assist in EHR adoption and more.

And, be sure to attend the upcoming joint CMS & ONC training on the EHR incentive programs and certification on July 22 at 2:00 pm ET. More information can be found on the CMS website: http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/.

 Links to Rules via Federal Register:  
 http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17207_PI.pdf 
 http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17210_PI.pdf

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking today to modify the Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules issued pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). 

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is designed to promote the widespread adoption and standardization of health information technology, and requires HHS to modify the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules to strengthen the privacy and security protections for health information and to improve the workability and effectiveness of the HIPAA Rules. 

The proposed modifications to the HIPAA Rules issued today include provisions extending the applicability of certain of the Privacy and Security Rules’ requirements to the business associates of covered entities, establishing new limitations on the use and disclosure of protected health information for marketing and fundraising purposes, prohibiting the sale of protected health information, and expanding individuals’ rights to access their information and to obtain restrictions on certain disclosures of protected health information to health plans.  In addition, the proposed rule adopts provisions designed to strengthen and expand HIPAA’s enforcement provisions.

 “This proposed rule strengthens the privacy and security of health information, and is an integral piece of the Administration’s efforts to broaden the use of health information technology in healthcare today,” said Georgina Verdugo, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  These HIPAA Rules are administered and enforced by OCR. 

 Once it is published in the Federal Register, the notice of proposed rulemaking may be viewed and commented on for 60 days at www.regulations.gov. 

In addition to issuing the notice of proposed rulemaking, OCR also updated its breach notification webpage.  Breaches of unsecured protected health information affecting 500 or more individuals that are reported to the Secretary are now posted in a new, more accessible format that allows users to search and sort the reported breaches.  Additionally, this new format includes brief summaries of the breach cases that OCR has investigated and closed, as well as the names of private practice providers who have reported breaches of unsecured protected health information to the Secretary.

Visit the OCR website for more information about this proposed rule and the updated breach notification webpage: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/.
***   (provided by Palmetto)