Industry Group Announces Top 5 HIT Companies for 2010

9. June 2010

Innovation and communication are keys to vendor-provider relationship. The fevered search for HIT vendors continues for many health care organizations. It’s always nice to hear about vendors who are singled out for their excellence in the specific area of HIT — many companies claim to know the area, but do your research before believing what you’re told in a marketing meeting. Five firms have made it to the top list of health care IT companies with the most potential in 2010, according to a HIT industry group. Read on to find out who they are.

OCR May Expand Accounting of Disclosures under HIPAA

3. June 2010

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HITECH Act requires use of EHRs as tools to inform about disclosures under Privacy Rule. Health care organizations and providers thought they dodged a bullet long ago when they convinced HHS to exclude disclosures of patient data used in the process of treatment and payments from the HIPAA privacy rules. But now, thanks to the HITECH Act, HHS is back, wondering what would be so terrible about requiring an accounting of such disclosures now. Through a request for information issued in early May titled HIPAA Privacy Rule Accounting of Disclosures Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (75 Fed Reg 23214 May 3, 2010), the HHS Office for Civil Rights says it expects to learn more about the interests of individuals, and the administrative burden on covered entities as well as business associates, concerning accounting for such disclosures. Under current standards of the…

EMR Use Might Distract Clinicians from Patient Interaction

26. May 2010

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Will using EMRs cause physicians to sacrifice personal communication with patients? While electronic medical records (EMRs) have their downsides – the main one being start-up expenses – a new possible problem is revealed in a recent report released by the Center for Studying Health System Change.

HHS Online Data Breach List Thrives

19. May 2010

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Many reported cases involve electronic systems, but paper records are still a security threat. Theft, loss, unauthorized access, or hacking. Whatever the breach is, HHS encourages people to turn to their computers and report it online. HHS then reports the specifics of breaches of security that affect 500 or more individuals. Presently, 64 cases are posted online, which allegedly affected about 1.2 million individuals.

Most Hospital CIOs Cite EMR as Top Priority

12. May 2010

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But a new survey also indicates their direct reports aren’t downloading the message. Getting electronic medical records systems off the ground in their hospitals is the most pressing concern for chief information officers, according to a recently reported survey, but that priority is not making its way down the totem pole to the managers and directors in their IT departments.

HIT: Just in Time to Cure the Recession?

5. May 2010

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Despite the promise of new jobs, EHR errors are still causing publicity and concern. By now we know the feds are handing out money – to colleges and non-profits, mostly – to jumpstart the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records. But what’s recently become clear, too, is the role health information technology is playing in jumpstarting the still-saggy U.S. economy – if it will just work right. Read on to find out how the feds are promoting HIT as the source of new jobs while concurrently making major CYA moves to deal with reports of EHR errors.

HHS Pumps More Money into HIT Adoption Efforts

28. April 2010

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Big schools, little schools and all kinds of lucky non-profits will get ARRA money. Under the gun to get its “meaningful use” definition straight in order to meet the deadlines of October 2010 for hospitals and January 2011 for eligible providers, the Department of Health & Human Services is getting serious about HIT adoption, and the serious American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 money is starting to roll out. In April 2010, the agency announced close to half a billion dollars in grants to schools and non-profits relating to the goal of establishing widespread and meaningful use of electronic health records by 2014.

Consumers Called to Contribute to ‘Meaningful Use’ Definition

21. April 2010

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Do providers think consumers/patients will muck up the EHR adoption process? As if the process weren’t complicated enough, the committee that advises the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is making a special effort to involve patients – also known as “consumers” of health care – and their families in the development of the definition of “meaningful use” in regs to be issued under HITECH. Read on to find out why consumer groups think it’s doctors who are mucking up the process.

DEA Clears One Hurdle to “Meaningful Use” of EHR

14. April 2010

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E-Prescribing of Controlled Substances Allowed Under New Regs Doing its part to hasten the EHR revolution, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued an interim final rule on March 31, 2010 revising its regs to allow pharmacies, hospitals and physicians to use electronic prescriptions for controlled substances, known as Schedule II drugs, such as opioids, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and anabolic steroids. This opens a door for practitioners to prove they are “meaningful EHR users” under the ARRA and HITECH and thus be eligible for incentive payments beginning next year. The DEA’s new regs align federal policies on controlled substances with the goal of moving the health care industry toward e-prescribing.

Study Shows File-Sharing Can Kill Your PHI Security Softly

11. March 2010

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Warning: Your physicians are strumming your compliance pain with their file-sharing fingers. If HIPAA compliance is your business, you’ll want to note a new study pointing toward a disturbing trend: doctors risking patient’s personal health information (PHI) through file-sharing — typically without even knowing about it. The study, conducted among U.S. IP addresses containing PHI and using file-sharing features, found that “search terms used in these file-sharing networks showed that a small percentage of the terms would return PHI … files.” This “small percentage” actually translate into thousands of U.S. computers, meaning PHI is out there for the plucking if physicians aren’t careful. “There are people successfully searching for … PHI on the peer-to-peer file-sharing networks,” according to the JAMIA study, “The inadvertent disclosure of personal health information through peer-to-peer file sharing program.” Some Features Difficult to Undo JAMIA divides its study…

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