HHS announces proposed rulemaking to “significantly” modify HIPAA

July 8, 2010October 31, 2011 Kathie McDonald-McClure Electronic Health Records, Federal Law Resources, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Meaningful Use, Privacy & Security Electronic Health Records, Federal Law Resources, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, HITECH Act, HITECH implementation, linkedin, privacy and security of health information exchange

On Thursday, July 8, 2010, the United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) held a press briefing to announce “significant modifications” through proposed rulemaking to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) pursuant to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH). The proposed modifications also seek to strengthen the privacy of health information and help Americans understand their rights and resources available to safeguard their personal health information. As part of the latter effort, Sebelius announced the launch of another new website “where Americans can read about all HHS’ efforts to protect privacy in the exchange of electronic health information and that will give Americans the tools needed to embrace technology to take control over their health information.” The website will be available at www.hhs.gov/healthprivacy.

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Federal court dismisses lawsuit alleging HITECH violates privacy rights

May 24, 2010August 4, 2010 Kathie McDonald-McClure Comparative Effectiveness Research, Electronic Health Records, Federal Law Resources, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Privacy & Security Comparative Effectiveness Research, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, linkedin, privacy and security of health information exchange

On May 13, 2010, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the privacy challenge to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) asserted by Beatrice M. Heghmann, a registered nurse, and Robert A. Heghmann, her husband and attorney, against Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Health & Human Services (HHS), Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director, White House Office of Health Reform, and Charlene Frizzera, Administrator, Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The Plaintiffs alleged that HITECH violates the HIPAA Privacy Rule, the Privacy Act, and Federal Common Law.

IOM Releases Top 100 Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research

June 30, 2009July 20, 2009 Kathie McDonald-McClure Comparative Effectiveness Research, Health care reform, HITECH Law ARRA, CER, Comparative Effectiveness Research, Health care reform, HITECH Act, Intitute of Medicine, IOM

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 placed a mandate on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to recommend national priorities for research questions to be addressed by comparative effectiveness research (CER) and supported by the ARRA stimulus funds. Pursuant to this mandate, on June 30, 2009, the IOM released a report, titled Initial National Priorities for Comparative Effective Research (Report). As described by the IOM, the Report “establishes a working definition of CER, develops a priority list of research topics to be undertaken with ARRA funding using broad stakeholder input, and identifies the necessary requirements to support a robust and sustainable CER enterprise.”

ONCHIT Policy Committee Releases Draft Definition of Meaningful Use to Qualify for HITECH Act’s Medicare Incentives

June 17, 2009July 15, 2009 Kathie McDonald-McClure Eligible Professional Incentives, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, HITECH Law, Meaningful Use, State HIT Grants & Loans EHR, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, HITECH Act, HITECH implementation, Meaningful Use, ONCHIT

Article Summary: The Meaningful Use Workgroup of the Office of National Coordinator’s HIT Policy Committee presented its initial draft of “meaningful use” at the Committee’s June 16, 2009 HIT Policy Committee meeting. As the National Coordinator and Chair of the HIT Policy Committee, David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., reminded the meeting’s participants: “This is an initial draft, which has a long way to go.” Health reform clearly is a cornerstone of the Meaningful Use criteria. The Committee established five key Meaningful Use goals with criteria that will be stengthened every two years based on that year’s specific objective.

The HHS Implementation Plan for the HITECH Act

June 15, 2009July 6, 2010 Kathie McDonald-McClure Health Information Technology, HITECH Law ARRA, Electronic Health Records, Health care reform, Health Information Technology, HITECH Act, HITECH implementation

The HHS HITECH Act Technology Implementation Plan. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has a broad role in the implementation of multiple health and welfare plans addressed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). In order to manage and coordinate its many obligations under ARRA, HHS established the Office of Recovery Act Coordination. This office is responsible for ensuring that ARRA programs are designed to best meet ARRA objectives and reporting due dates, to establish and track performance outcomes, mitigate the risks of fraud and abuse, and to keep the public informed through the Web and other means of communication. The Office of Recovery Act Coordination released a 291-page implementation plan to address each aspect of HHS responsibilities under the ARRA, including a distinct Act within ARRA focused on health information technology, privacy and security. This Act is titled, “Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act” (HITECH Act).