Electronic Health Records

ONC Issues Proposed Rule for Two EHR Certification Programs

Kathie McDonald-McClure EHR Certification Standards, Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus, Meaningful Use , , , , ,

On March 2, 2010, the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) issued its proposed rulemaking respecting the certification standards that an eligible health care provider’s electronic health record must satisfy in order to qualify for incentives under the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health Act (HITECH Act), which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The ONC proposes establishing two certification programs:

1) A temporary certification program whereby the ONC would authorize organizations to test and certify Complete EHRs and/or EHR Modules, thereby assuring the availability of Certified EHR Technology prior to the date on which health care providers seeking the incentive payments may begin demonstrating meaningful use of Certified EHR Technology; and

2) A permanent certification program that would replace the temporary certification program. The permanent certification program would separate the responsibilities for performing testing and certification, introduce accreditation requirements, establish requirements for certification bodies authorized by the ONC related to the surveillance of Certified EHR Technology, and would include the potential for certification bodies authorized by the ONC to certify other types of health information technology besides Complete EHRs and EHR Modules.

The comment period for the proposed rule will be established once it is published in the Federal Register. In the meantime, you can read the proposed rule on the ONC’s webpage.

Conversion to electronic health record and retention of paper records

Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Federal Law Resources, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Privacy & Security , , ,

Editor’s Note: Due to the continued popularity of this post, this article was reviewed and updated on September 30, 2013. For the later version, click here.

Update: On August 8, 2010, Medicare issued MLN Matters Article SE1022 on Medical Record Retention and Media Formats for Medical Records, which states that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires records of providers submitting cost reports (most hospitals) to be retained in their original or legally reproduced form (which may be electronic), for at least 5 years after closure of the cost report.

Many hospitals have electronic health records (EHRs) that are hybrid digital records. While the hospital may be using electronic data entry in the ER, inpatient nursing care, pharmacy, lab, and pre-op anesthesia, oftentimes, these EHRs are not integrated and, thus, are not merged into a single EHR. The short-term solution may have been to scan printed records from some department, like lab or pharmacy, into the patient’s on-line digital record. As a result, the hospital’s “electronic health record” contains information that is not captured in a “coded format.”  For one, this will not meet the Stage One “meaningful use” criteria under the HITECH Act.

But let’s assume that the hospital can overcome this hurdle by working with vendors to integrate these records in a way that will meet HITECH EHR certification standards.  If the hospital has been maintaining certain portions of patient records in a paper format, what does it do with those paper records after converting to an EHR?   If the hospital scans all the paper patient records into its EHR, how long should the hospital retain the paper record after it is scanned into their EHR? 

Continue reading →

Event in Louisville, KY to focus on “Meaningful Use” under HITECH

Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus, Meaningful Use, Physician EMR Stimulus, Privacy & Security , , , , , , ,

On January 19, 2010, the Greater Louisville Health Enterprises Network together with Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Bluegrass Chapter, will present a panel presentation with discussions surrounding the next steps under the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health Act (HITECH), part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

Expert panelists include:

  • Rick Chapman, CIO, Kindred Healthcare & Member, HITSP Panel
  • Kathie McDonald-McClure, Esq., Wyatt Tarrant & Combs, LLP
  • Joe DeVenuto, CIO, Norton Healthcare

Moderated by Greg Aaron, Past Chapter President Bluegrass HIMSS and Board Member, Health Enterprises Network

Time & Location:

  • 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.  Wine Reception.
  • 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Dinner & Panel Discussion
  • Sheraton Louisville, Riverside, 700 West Riverside Dr., Jeffersonville, IN 47130

Registration Information: $35 members; Tables available $245

To learn more about the Health Enterprises Network, click here.

HHS Releases Proposed EHR “Meaningful Use” Standards

Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Eligible Professional Incentives, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Hospital EHR Stimulus, Meaningful Use, Physician EMR Stimulus , , , , , , , , , ,

By 2014, hospitals and physicians whom Medicare reimburses for services and items will need to have adopted an electronic health record (EHR) according to rules promulgated under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) or risk reductions in their Medicare reimbursement. On December 30, 2009, the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), released their respective proposed rules for qualifying for EHR stimulus funds under HITECH: The “meaningful use” and “certified” EHR standards. 

Continue reading>>

Use of electronic communications with patients

Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Federal Law Resources, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Meaningful Use, Privacy & Security , ,

The Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and its HIT Policy Committee worked hard throughout the summer to develop a framework for the “meaningful use” standards required to qualify for electronic health record (EHR) adoption stimulus funds available under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act).  When I saw the survey that HIMSS released today regarding the use of social networking tools to communicate with patients, it reminded me of the “meaningful use” standard that centers on “engaging patients and families.”  The stated goal of this standard is to “Provide patients and families with timely access to data, knowledge, and tools to make informed decisions and to manage their health.” Although it’s doubtful today that social networking tools would be accepted as meeting this goal for purposes of the EHR stimulus funds, it did get me to thinking about the use of technology to literally communicate with patients and, in particular, the studies that have been done in regard to using technology, such as e-mail and texting, to communicate with patients.  

Continue reading>>