July 2001 News Archives:
July 31, 2001
AAPS Files Lawsuit in Attempt to Stop HIPAA Privacy Regs The
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) announced
details of a new lawsuit to be filed to halt implementation of the
HIPAA privacy regulations. Also to be released are the results of
a national survey of physicians showing almost unanimous opposition
to the new rules. Read more.
July 30, 2001
DHHS Reaffirms Plans on Security and E-Signatures Rules
Senior DHHS Advisor on Health Information Policy Bill Braithwaite
reaffirmed Friday that the final Security Rule is unlikely to differ
substantially from the proposed Security Rule provisions: "The
basic philosophy of the final security rule is unchanged from the
NPRM." Braithwaite noted that "redundancies and excessive
micromanagement have been reduced." He also commented that
the electronic signature standard would not be included in the final
Security, but "will be addressed later (a year or so) in another
rule." Braithwaite forwarded this report to Phoenix Health
Systems in response to an inquiry regarding the current status of
the final Security Rule. The proposed Security Rule, including a
proposed Electronic Signature Standard, was published by DHHS in
August, 1998.
July 30,
2001 AFEHCT Issues Report Assessing the Case for HIPAA Delay
The Association For Electronic Health Care Transactions (AFEHCT)
has issued a report written by The Moran Company entitled "Implementing
the Administrative Simplification Requirements of HIPAA: Assessing
the Case for Delay." The report, which AFEHCT is using in its
lobbying efforts, reviews the history and rationales behind the
enactment of the ‘administrative simplification’ provisions
of HIPAA, discusses the newly identified direct and collateral benefits
of standardization, reviews the technical feasibility of implementing
the administrative simplification standards, and assesses the arguments
“for” and “against” the “delay” in
the implementation of the “administrative simplification”
standards.
July 30,
2001 Blues Exert Pressure on Congress for HIPAA Delay
There are signs of Congressional movement on the Blues' HIPAA "delay"
proposals. According to AFEHCT, the Blues are exerting pressure
for Congressional action before the August Congressional recess
which begins August 3. Action, if any, will take place first in
the Senate. Read more.
July 24, 2001
U.S. Looks to Web To Boost Healthcare Customer Service
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Science, Technology, and Space
Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, has issued a call
for increased use of Internet and e-commerce tools to improve customer
service in America's healthcare industry. On Monday, the subcommittee
held a hearing titled "E-Health and Consumer Empowerment: How
Consumers Can Use Technology Today and in the Future to Improve
Their Health." According to witnesses at the hearing, there
is a need for hospitals and physicians to share Web-based patient
data. Full
Story.
July 23, 2001
Bush Calls for Computer Security Board
The White House is setting up a panel to determine the best way
to fend off attacks on government systems and protect "critical"
private-sector computer networks. The effort is outlined in the
final draft of an executive order, called "Infrastructure Protection
in the Information Age," which President Bush is expected to
sign and issue within two weeks. Full
Story.
July 23, 2001
Medicare Prepares for HIPAA Testing
According to Health Data Management, the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services, formerly HCFA, has sent a memorandum to Medicare
carriers and intermediaries outlining testing requirements in compliance
with the HIPAA transactions and code sets final rule. The memorandum,
titled Transmittal AB-01-96, contains valuable information for hospitals
and other provider organizations that want to get an early start
on testing with their Medicare contractor. Read
the memorandum (PDF).
July 20, 2001 Lawmakers Urge HIPAA
Fix
The American Hospital Association reports that earlier this week
a bipartisan group of 15 senators wrote DHHS Secretary Tommy Thompson,
urging the administration to fix and help fund HIPAA's medical privacy
rule. The Senate letter followed last week's identical call for
changes from 165 representatives.
Read more.
July 18, 2001 Gartner Recommends
One-Year Delay for Transactions
A recent Gartner, Inc. study revealed that 85 percent of healthcare
providers have yet to complete assessments or gap analyses, which
are the critical path and foundation to achieve compliance with
the HIPAA transaction regulations. Due to those and other findings,
Gartner recommends that the deadline be extended one year, to October
16, 2003, allowing healthcare organizations more time to implement
standardized EDI transactions. Read
more.
July 17, 2001 Scully, Congressional
Staffers Speak on HIPAA "Delay"
At the Association For Electronic Health Care Transactions' (AFEHCT)
recent Annual Washington Policy Forum, Tom Scully, new CMS (formerly
HCFA) Administrator, spoke about HIPAA "delay" proposals.
It is the only time the Bush administration has spoken in public
and on the record on the subject. Three Congressional staffers very
close to the situation also addressed the subject of HIPAA delay.
Read more.
July 17, 2001
S.C. Group Files Landmark Lawsuit Over HIPAA
According to the Charlotte Observer, the South Carolina Medical
Association (SCMA) has asked a federal district court in Columbia
to overturn new rules that mandate how patient information is kept
and disseminated. The SCMA says the rules are unconstitutional because
they were drawn up by a federal agency, not Congress. An HHS spokeswoman
said the department hasn't been sued over HIPAA rules before.
Read the complaint
(PDF file).
July 16, 2001 DHHS to Retract NDCs
as Standard
The modification follows a recommendation from the National Committee
on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) to retract the adoption of
National Drug Codes (NDCs) as the standard medical data code set
for reporting drugs and biologics for certain standard transactions.
Full Story.
July 12, 2001
Lawmakers Debate Genetic Discrimination Measure
All the potential benefits of the mapping of the human genome could
be at risk if Congress fails to pass a law to protect Americans
from insurance and employment discrimination based on their genetic
makeup, witnesses told a House subcommittee Wednesday. Reps. Louise
Slaughter (D-NY) and Connie Morella (R-MD) told the Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection that the House should pass their
bill which would build on existing
protections included in HIPAA. Full
Story.
July
12, 2001 Senators Press for Internet Privacy Bill
Senators pressing for an Internet privacy law say they have learned
from their mistakes in previous failed bills, including not specifying
whether medical and financial data should get more protection. Several
members of the Commerce Committee said Wednesday they were committed
to producing a law this year. The legislation they envision may
require that consumers give their consent before companies use their
medical or financial information, but have a lesser "opt-out"
standard for regular Internet purchases. AP
article. Washington
Post article.
July 10, 2001
AHA Reacts to Privacy Guidance
The AHA welcomed DHHS' issuance of its first HIPAA privacy regs
guidance, but said critical issues still need to be addressed. The
association said DHHS appears to have taken steps toward assisting
hospitals in such key areas as minimum necessary standards, oral
communications and consent requirements. However, AHA said the guidance
does not address concerns on issues such as data aggregation for
benchmarking, business associate requirements, and disclosures to
the government. Full
Story.
July 6, 2001 DHHS Issues HIPAA Privacy
Guidance, calling it "the first in a series of guidance
materials" on HIPAA. The guidance addresses many key issues
of concern reflected in the more than 11,000 separate public comments
on the final rule submitted to HHS during a 30-day comment period
this March. Topics include consent, the "minimum necessary"
requirement, oral communications and research among others. The
guidance also states that DHHS "can and will issue proposed
modifications" to the rule prior to the compliance date. Full
Story. Read
the guidance.
July 6, 2001
Privacy at Issue in Abortion Case; Abortion Patient's Picture, Medical
Records Posted on Web
An Illinois woman who suffered a cervical tear during an abortion
is suing antiabortion activists for posting her picture, medical
records, and personal information on several antiabortion web sites,
the Los Angeles Times reports. The woman is also suing the hospital
that treated her after the abortion, claiming that her medical records
were released without her authorization. Full
Story.
July 5,
2001 Eli Lilly Cites Programming Error for Privacy Gaffe
The pharmaceutical maker blames a programming error for an incident
last week in which it accidentally disclosed the e-mail addresses
of about 600 medical patients. Analysts said the mistake points
to the need for health care organizations to assess whether the
way they communicate with patients violates
HIPAA medical data privacy rules. Full Story.
UPDATE: ACLU Calls for FTC Investigation for possible
federal trade law violation by Eli Lilly. Full
Story.
July 5, 2001
NCVHS sends HIPAA recommendations to HHS
The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) has
recommended to HHS Secretary Thompson a number of steps to help
hospitals implement the HIPAA administrative simplification provisions.
NCVHS recommended that HHS supply early guidance on implementation
of the standards, allow flexibility in enforcing them and should
not allow a delay in the implementation date. NCVHS Chairman John
Lumpkin, M.D., and director, Illinois Department of Public Health,
delivered these agreements and recommendations, along with others,
in a letter to Thompson. Read the
letter.
July 4, 2001
Prozac Maker Reveals Patient E-Mail Addresses
According to the Washington Post, Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. last
week inadvertently divulged the e-mail addresses of patients with
depression, bulimia or obsessive-compulsive disorder, company officials
said yesterday. Privacy specialists said the lapse demonstrates
the difficulties of protecting sensitive information collected and
shared by computers on the Internet. Full
Story.
July 3, 2001
HHS: Privacy Guidance Coming Soon
Robinsue Frohboese, acting director of DHHS' Office of Civil Rights,
on June 29 said the privacy guidance document would be released
“in the very near future,” according to Health Data Management.
HHS officials three weeks ago told the American Hospital Association
the document would be issued within days. Frohboese on Friday told
AHA News the document will offer detailed guidance on the intent
of contentious issues in the medical privacy rule. The Office of
Civil Rights, which will enforce the privacy rule, will focus on
voluntary compliance and assistance, using enforcement tools only
as a last resort, Frohboese told AHA News.
July 3, 2001
Medical Privacy is the Law in Texas
Health Data Management reports Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed
legislation establishing medical information privacy rights in the
state. Senate Bill 11 (SB11), modeled after the federal privacy
rule, includes tougher restrictions against the use of identifiable
information for marketing purposes. The legislation gives patients
the right to access and append their medical records, and the right
to know how an entity is using their medical information. Read
the final bill.
July 2,
2001 Senate Passes Patients' Rights Bill
Democrats pushed through a set of protections for Americans in managed-care
plans. But confronted with rampant consumer resentment of managed
care, the private marketplace has reacted more rapidly than the
government. According to the Washington Post, managed-care officials
say state laws--and the specter of federal regulation--have not
been the main reason they have changed their rules; the motivation
was due to consumers' wants. Read
more.
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