February 2001

February 28, 2001 DHHS Begins Accepting Comments on Privacy Rule Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced the public comment period on the HIPAA Privacy Rule is again open and will close at 5 PM on March 30th. This action does not effect the rule's corrected effective date of April 14, 2001. Full Story.

February 27, 2001 URAC Releases Health Web Site Standards for Comment URAC (also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare/Commission) released a draft set of Health Web Site Standards for public review and comment. The quality-based standards will form the foundation of an accreditation program for health Web sites, and includes "opt-in" privacy standards. Full Story.

February 26, 2001 DHHS Reopens Privacy Rule for Comment The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will reopen the final HIPAA Privacy Rule for public comment for 30 days. The Associate Press reports that the comment period will begin early this week. Full Story.

February 23, 2001 Federal Genetic Test Protections Urged Congress should pass laws explicitly guaranteeing the privacy of genetic test results and should also consider laws banning discrimination based on genetic profiles, the chair of a government advisory panel told Reuters Health Friday in an interview. Full Story.

February 22, 2001 Lawyers Claim Patient's Privacy Violated in Rape Case The defendant's lawyers will argue that jurors never should have heard evidence stemming from an anonymous tip by a physician's assistant (PA). The PA called the police after the defendant admitted himself. Lawyers say the call violated his legal rights as a psychiatric patient. Full Story.

February 22, 2001 Congress Considers Numerous Net Privacy Bills Internet privacy is emerging as a primary issue of cyberspace-related
legislation, say some Congress members and observers. (A good summary of the key issues and most likely bills to be passed.) Full Story.

February 21, 2001 Privacy Rule Effective in April 2001 The final HIPAA privacy rule will become effective on April 14, 2001, according to official reports at the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) meeting today. The delay is purely administrative and is not a reaction to recent industry calls for a delay.

February 21, 2001 IT Advisory Committee Issues Report on Healthcare
The President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) released a report on health care and information technology today, recommending
enhanced privacy rules. Full Story.

February 14, 2001 DHHS Calls for Changes to Transaction Standards In response to comments from the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) and the Insurance Subcommittee of Accredited Standards Committee X12, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) may consider adopting a "modification" to the final HIPAA Electronic Transactions rule by 16 October 2001 {45 CFR 160.104 (b)}. Full Story.

February 13, 2001 Consumer Groups Urge HHS Not To Delay Final Health Privacy Rule On February 7, 2001, the Consumer Coalition for Health Privacy sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging Secretary Thompson not to delay the effective date and implementation of the final health privacy regulation. Full Story.

February 13, 2001 Occupational Health Organizations Ask for HIPAA
The nation's two largest occupational health organizations urge members of Congress to support legislation which will extend health protections to cover all health information and all health care providers. Full Story.

February 13, 2001 DHHS May Release Security Regulation Earlier
HHS may be rethinking delaying the security regulation until the end of the year, according to the Privacy Security Network. While some delay in issuing the regulation can be expected as a result of the change in Administrations, the healthcare industry would find it more expensive to develop privacy policies without knowing the security requirements, experts suggest.

February 13, 2001 Privacy Rule Process Unlikely to Restart While some groups have asked DHHS to reopen the comment period on the HIPAA privacy rule, it is unlikely that the process will start over entirely, according to a report by the Privacy Security Network. A delay in the implementation dates and fixes around the edges are more likely.

February 12, 2001 Some Providers May Be Exempt Providers that do not electronically transmit or receive claims-related transactions are not covered entities under the privacy rule, according to an article by Health Data Management. Full Story.

February 9, 2001 Security Gaps Cost Billions According to a new report, computer hackers cost businesses nearly 6 cents for every dollar of revenue -- or billions of dollars -- and the figure is set to climb as the number of Internet interlopers appears to be soaring. Full Story.

February 8, 2001 Payers and Providers Ask Senate Committee for Privacy Rule Delay The American Hospital Association requested a delay in the final privacy rule, not just for comment, but for implementation, calling the current compliance schedule "overly aggressive." Full Story.

February 8, 2001 Braithwaite Outlines Rule Schedule William Braithwaite, senior advisor on health information policy for DHHS, said that the final security rule is expected in the second quarter of 2001. Final rules for identifiers for providers, employers and the proposed health plan identifier rule are all expected in the first quarter. The proposed enforcement rule is expected in late 2001. Full Story.

February 6, 2001 Groups Ask for HIPAA Privacy Delay A group of 39 health industry organizations is asking the federal government to postpone patient privacy rules written by the Clinton administration, arguing they will hinder those who need medicine quickly. Full Story.

February 6, 2001 AHIMA Releases Sample Privacy Officer Description
The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) released its sample position description for the HIPAA mandated privacy officer position. The position description is intended to serve as a template for
organizations in development of a privacy officer position. Full Story.

February 2, 2001 AHA Lobbies Against HIPAA Transaction Rule The American Hospital Association (AHA) testified before the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) that "ambiguities" in the HIPAA Transaction Rule could pose significant hardships on both providers and payers. George Arges, senior director of the AHA's Health Data Management Group and chair of the National Uniform Billing Committee, said the adoption of the new standards would require extensive conversion and replacement of existing information systems. Full Story.

February 2, 2001 Privacy Caucus Announces Plans for Internet Privacy Laws The four co-chairs of the increasingly prominent Congressional Privacy Caucus said they did not want to override state legislation, according to a report by Reuters. But federal privacy laws were needed to address growing public concerns about electronic surveillance and especially ``bugs'' that secretly track online behavior, they added. Full Story.

February 1, 2001 Tech Group Announces Privacy Principles A group of technical advertising firms issued privacy principles designed to self-regulate "personalization". Personalization is the ability to "recognize" customers online and target advertising based on past purchases, surfing behavior or stated preferences. Full Story.

February 1, 2001 AHA Requests HIPAA Delay The American Hospital Association (AHA) has requested that Secretary-Designate Thompson reopen for comment, and thereby delay, the HIPAA privacy regulations, calling them neither appropriate nor workable for America's hospitals. Text of Letter.

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