SUMMARY: In June 2011, the United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR)contracted for new periodic audits of covered entities and business associates to ensure compliance with the Privacy and Security Standards found in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as ...
UPDATE: On July 6, 2011, Farzad Mostashari, M.D., ONC Chief, backed the ONC Policy Committee's recommendation to delay implementing Stage 2 meaningful use criteria.
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On June 16, 2011, Paul Tang, M.D. , as Vice Chair of the Health IT Policy Committee for the Office ...
What do the Physician Quality Reporting Incentives Program (PQRI) and Hospital Inpatient Value Based Purchasing (VBP) Program have in common with the recently released proposed regulation for establishing an Accountable Care Organization (ACO)? Answer: The meaningful use measures established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicare ...
On January 13, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Proposed Rule on the Medicare Hospital Inpatient Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program. The VPB Program is being established per the directive of the Patient Protection and Affordable Access to Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). CMS is to begin making incentive ...
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated its HITECH electronic health records webpage to include information about registration for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Per CMS, registration opens on January 3, 2011 and a link will be available on the CMS HITECH ...
Update: In a voice vote today, December 7, 2010, the House passed the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010. The Act now goes to President Obama for signing.
On November 30, 2010, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that could exempt health care providers from the FTC's Red Flag Rule. The Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010 amends the ...
On October 15, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Transmittal 2066 to address the submission of informational only claims by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) as well as Maryland Waiver Hospitals in order to track Part C patient days for purposes of calculating the Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentives ...
Just to recap where we are today, the U.S. Health & Human Services Department (HHS) Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has authorized three organizations to perform complete EHR and/or EHR module testing and certification under the Temporary Certification Program Rules. Certification means that the EHR or ...
On September 27, 2010, CMS updated its answers and posted a few new ones to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the electronic health record (EHR) incentives available under the HITECH Act's Meaningful Use ("MU") Final Rule. Here is a sampling of answers addressed in the FAQs:
- Registration for Medicare MU incentives is to be available ...
On August 17, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a 4-page letter plus attachments to State Medicaid Directors giving guidance on the implementation of Medicaid EHR incentive programs under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and the recently published CMS Final Rule ...
Update: On August 9, 2010, Humana, Inc. and athenahealth, Inc. announced their collaboration to provide physicians access to a practice management/EHR software system combined with a rewards program related to quality measures. For more information, click here.
On August 5, 2010, four major commercial health insurance payors participated ...
Update: The text of HR 6072 is now available on the Library of Congress webpage here.
On Friday, July 30, 2010, Rep. Zack Space (D-OH) and several other representatives, introduced HR 6072, the Electronic Health Record Incentives for Multi-Campus Hospitals Act of 2010 (Multi-campus Hospital Act). If passed, this Act would reduce the disparity ...
The following statement was recently posted on the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office of Civil Rights website:
"The Interim Final Rule for Breach Notification for Unsecured Protected Health Information, issued pursuant to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, was published in ...
On Thursday, July 22, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) held a publicly available teleconference to give an overview of the 800+ page Final Rule on Meaningful Use (MU) under the HITECH Act, as well as an overview of the Final and Proposed Rules on Temporary & Permanent Certification Program and the Final Rule on ...
Update: On December 29, 2010, HHS published in the Federal Register a "Correcting Amendment" to its Final Rule on Meaningful Use, which can be viewed here.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wasted no time in putting the brand new CMS Director to work on July 13, 2010, in announcing the release of two rules under the Health Information Technology ...
UPDATE: Watch the LIVE webcast here.
According to HealthcareIT News, federal officials have announced that, on Tuesday morning, July 13, 2010, at 10:00 am EST, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) will release the final rule on making a "meaningful use" of electronic health records under the ...
On Thursday, July 29, 2010, physicians, physician practice managers, and others interested in learning more about the regulations governing incentives under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act) are invited to a free education session (by Kathie McDonald-McClure) and networking event ...
From the Office of National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC HIT):
"On June 18, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology issued its temporary certification program final rule, which establishes a way for organizations to become authorized by the National Coordinator to test and certify ...
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 ...
Update 9/24/2020: In the 10 years since we wrote this article, the DEA received questions and requests for clarification on various issues concerning the implementation and technical requirements for e-prescribing controlled substances. To provide further clarification, this year, the DEA reopened the EPCS Interim Final Rule for ...
On March 24, 2010, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) posted a 30-day notice to solicit comments under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 regarding its estimate of the burden to conduct a survey about public attitudes towards an electronic health information exchange and the associated privacy and security aspects. The Office ...
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 ...
For more up-to-date information about ARRA grants related to EHRs, see the page titled "Grants" which can be found at the top of this blog's home page.
A complete listing of the Health Information Exchange (HIEs), Regional Extention Centers (RECs) and job training recipients of HIT grants under the Health Information Technology for Economic ...
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This article was originally written in June 2009, before HHS released the Proposed Rule on "meaningful use" on December 30, 2009 and before President Obama signed the Continuing Extension Act of 2010. Under the Proposed Rule, the determining factor of whether a physician is "hospital-based" under the Medicare incentive ...
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 ...
On Thursday, January 21, 2010, CMS announced that Alaska, Kentucky, South Carolina and Wisconsin, would receive federal matching funds for EHR implementation under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Kentucky's grant is $2.6 million. CMS indicated that the grant will be used to study EHR implementation ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a Notice in the Federal Register, December 1, 2009, Volume 229, No. 74, that it has reorganized the HHS Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The stated purpose of the reorganization was "to more effectively meet the mission outlined by The Health ...
On Monday, November 23, 2009, Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under the Department of Health & Human Services, announced the launch of the Health IT Buzz blog. The blog is envisioned as a way to reach out to the healthcare IT community and public at large in order to create an open dialogue about ...
As first reported by the American Bar Association's Focus on E-Health and Privacy section, CMS announced on November 23, 2009, that Iowa's Medicaid program is the first state to receive federal matching funds for planning activities necessary to implement the electronic health records (EHR) incentive program established by the Health ...
I will be giving a presentation on "HITECH for Physicians" on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, from 7:30 am to 9:00 am. The presentation will take place at MedX12 offices, Ormsby III, 10200 Forest Green Blvd. (just off of North Hurstbourne Lane) in Louisville, Kentucky. The presentation will focus on those aspects of the HITECH Act that provide ...
On Friday, September 18, 2009, from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, the HHS HIT Policy Committee discussed the standards under development for the 2013 and 2015 "meaningful use" criteria related to privacy and security. The Committee's webpage gave the following overview of the purpose of the meeting:
Protecting health data through comprehensive privacy ...
On Tuesday, September, 15, 2009, the HHS HIT Standards Committee gave an update on the quality measures that providers seeking to establish "meaningful use" of "certified EHR" must meet in order to qualify for stimulus funds available under ARRA's Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The meeting ran ...
In a letter to State Survey Agency Directors dated August 14, 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave state surveyors guidance regarding surveys of facilities that use electronic health records (EHRs). CMS first stated its support and commitment to the goal that, by 2014, most Americans "will have access to health ...
On September 1, 2009, CMS issued a letter to State Medicaid Directors to provide initial guidance on state administration of the incentive payments for eligible Medicaid providers who adopt and become meaningful users of electronic health records. These incentives were authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA ...
I attended HIMSS Summit of the Southeast in Nashville on September 9, 2009. As is probably no surprise, this was a well-attended conference with some good speakers and engaging panel discussions. Among the excellent speakers was David Goetz, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration, who gave a "state of the state ...
On August 17, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its final rule requiring vendors of "personal health records" to notify consumers when the security of their electronic health information is breached. On August 19, 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its interim final rule requiring health care ...
On August 14, 2009, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed an Executive Order creating Kentucky's Office of Electronic Health Information. This new Office will be the conduit for development of health information exchanges and the stimulus grants available to states under the HITECH Act. The Secretary of Kentucky's Cabinet for Health ...
On Thursday, July 16, 2009, the HIT Policy Committee presented its revised recommendation on the "meaningful use" definition. At the end of this meeting, the HIT Policy Committee forwarded its recommendation on the "meaningful use" definition to the Office of National Coordinator per the Health Information Technology for Economic and ...
Many small physician practices may be relying on health information technology (HIT) loans from their state to adopt electronic health records (EHRs) in their practices. Before a physician can seek such a loan, the state must have such loans available. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides grants to states to ...
On June 16, 2009, on the same date the ONC HIT Policy Committee released the first draft of "meaningful use" of electronic health records (EHRs), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the CMS Health Information Technology Website to address health information technology (Health IT or HIT) under the ARRA's Health ...
Article Summary: The Federal Trade Commission's Red Flags Rule for identity theft applies to most health care providers according to the FTC's current guidance. The FTC makes a clear attempt under the Rule to regulate medical identity theft, as opposed to credit identity theft. The result is that the FTC will have regulatory authority in an ...
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 ...
[See more Recent Post dated June 17, 2009, for the HITECH Law Blog's discussion of the June 16, 2009 HIT Policy Committee Meeting on Meaningful Use!]
With a little help from the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) and the ONC HIT Policy Committee, it's possible that health information technology vendors and the providers who want to adopt or ...
On June 9, 2009, from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm EDT, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a national education conference call to address Medicare’s FFS implementation of HIPAA Version 5010. CMS is conducting this call for all Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) providers. The call is to give a general overview of Medicare’s ...
Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act), the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are vested with authority to further define "meaningful use" as it relates to qualifying to receive ...
Providers who wish to receive incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), and more specifically, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act), for the adoption and implementation of an electronic health record (EHR) must meet specific requirements, one ...
Welcome to my new "HITECH" blog. This blog will track key developments at the federal and state (Kentucky) levels under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) related to that part of ARRA titled, "Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act" (HITECH). My primary interest in HITECH concerns the stimulus ...