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July 2005 News ArchivesJuly 29, 2005 WEDI to Build Framework for Payer-Provider Cooperation The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is in the early stages of enabling providers and payers to cooperate on claims submissions, with the goal of reducing administration expenses, reports Healthcare IT News. A subgroup of WEDI, called 4C, is beginning work on a vision paper, which it hopes to produce within a few months, to define how an ideal system would work in facilitating electronic transactions between segments in healthcare that have long distrusted each other. Pressure to cooperate on electronically handling transactions is growing as providers and payers hope to capitalize on the implementation of standardized HIPAA transactions and as electronic medical records are gaining increased attention. July 29, 2005 House & Senate Move Toward New Data Security Rules In a flurry of activity before Congress' August recess, three different congressional committees considered similar security breach and safeguard legislation at the same time yesterday morning, reports ZDNet News. The Senate's Commerce Committee voted unanimously to accept a bill introduced earlier this month by Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR). It would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the power to create an information security program that provides "administrative, technical and physical safeguards," and set guidelines for notifying people threatened by a data security breach. Senators also voted to accept an amendment proposed by Sen. Bill Nelson, (D-FL), which would prohibit the sale and display of Social Security numbers except in special circumstances, but indicated it might be tweaked before it is final. At the same time on Thursday, a US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce subcommittee convened a hearing about its own draft of data protection legislation. All the proposed bills share common threads: requiring prompt notification when security breaches occur, awarding more regulatory power to the federal government, and setting minimum standards for data security. July 29, 2005 HHS Clarifies Claims of Free EHR Software Offering Officials in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are clarifying claims made in a recent New York Times article that office-based physicians are in line to get free electronic health records (EHR) systems, reports Health-IT World. Although HHS is preparing to release a scaled-down version of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) public-domain EHR system long in use at veterans hospitals and clinics nationwide, the software will not be totally free. Private medical practices will have to pay a $2,700 licensing fee per physician for the first year, according to Gary Carr, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and even the Times said that implementation costs would run in the thousands for a typical physician practice. July 26, 2005 IT Managers Criticize Federal Data-Loss Bill Several IT managers interviewed last week criticize a US Senate bill that would require companies to disclose any compromise of sensitive data, reports Computerworld. The progress of the Identity Theft Protection Act was slowed last week to allow for more input from senators and is sponsored by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI). If the bill becomes law, organizations that hold sensitive personal data will be required to secure it with "physical and technological safeguards that will be specified by the Federal Trade Commission." The managers criticized the proposed bill because it calls on companies to disclose the loss of data regardless of whether it's encrypted -- and because it calls for fines of up to $11 million for failing to report losses. They contend that encrypted data is unlikely to be translated if stolen or lost. July 26, 2005 Hospital Reports Some Records Stolen St. John's Regional Medical Center in Missouri has notified 27,000 patients that two computers containing some of their personal information were stolen from a microfilming company, reports the Associated Press. The computers were stolen July 7 from KC & Associates, a company that converts the hospital's patient records to microfilm for easier storage. St. John's has removed all other documents and property from KC & Associates and is cooperating in the investigation, according to the letter patients received. The hospital also is installing a new system that will track patients' medical records electronically without the need of an outside microfilming company. July 21, 2005 Survey Finds Consumers Support EMR Adoption But Privacy Concerns Remain Generally, consumer attitudes favor the use of electronic medical records (EMR) systems although privacy concerns are a thread running through the results of an online survey released today by management and information technology consulting firm Accenture, reports Modern Physician. The survey was based on 619 online interviews of people with Internet access conducted March 25-29. Having access to their health records ranked highest among six choices as the greatest potential benefit of EMRs, chosen first by 44% of respondents. Privacy remains a key issue with consumers, but the survey did not focus on consumer attitudes comparing paper and electronic records. Asked about five potential risks of having an EMR, the top concern chosen by 30% of respondents was that their information could be revealed without their approval. July 21, 2005 Senate Committee Approves Combined Health IT Bill Lawmakers today approved out of committee a health IT bill that combines the features of two similar pieces of legislation that had attracted wide bipartisan support, reports Government Computer News. The bill aims to accelerate health IT adoption, improve the quality of care and reduce costs. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted unanimously to send S 1418, the Wired for Health Care Quality Act, to the Senate floor. It marries the Health Technology to Enhance Quality Act, introduced by Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), and the Better Healthcare Through Information Technology Act, introduced by committee chairman Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA). The combined bill has 26 co-sponsors - more than 25 percent of the Senate. July 21, 2005 Survey Finds Consumers Support EMR Adoption But Privacy Concerns Remain Generally, consumer attitudes favor the use of electronic medical records (EMR) systems although privacy concerns are a thread running through the results of an online survey released today by management and information technology consulting firm Accenture, reports Modern Physician. The survey was based on 619 online interviews of people with Internet access conducted March 25-29. Having access to their health records ranked highest among six choices as the greatest potential benefit of EMRs, chosen first by 44% of respondents. Privacy remains a key issue with consumers, but the survey did not focus on consumer attitudes comparing paper and electronic records. Asked about five potential risks of having an EMR, the top concern chosen by 30% of respondents was that their information could be revealed without their approval. July 19, 2005 HHS Seeks Nominations for Health IT Advisory Board The The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is calling for nominations for members to serve on the high-level national board announced last month to advise HHS on developing the interoperability standards needed for a national health IT network. In a Federal Register notice last week, HHS announced the makeup of the 17-member American Health Information Community, which HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt will chair. The members will serve two-year terms, and those not considered full-time federal employees will be paid on a daily rate, HHS said. Those seeking membership to the group must submit to HHS by August 5 a one-page letter summarizing their qualifications. July 19, 2005 CMS Seeks Input on Personal Health Records The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wants public input on what roles it and its vast storehouse of data on Medicare beneficiaries should play in the development and use of personal health records, reports Government Health IT. July 19, 2005 Senate Slashes HHS Health IT Budget The Senate Appropriations Committee last week passed a spending bill that slashes the fiscal 2006 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Information Technology from the requested $75 million to $45.2 million, reports Government Health IT. The House passed its version of the bill June 24, approving the president's $125 million health IT budget, including the $75 million request for the national health IT coordinator's office. A conference committee will resolve the funding differences later this year. The Senate's budget frugality contrasts with strong backing for health IT from its leadership. Sens. Bill Frist (R-TN) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) introduced a health IT bill backed by Sens. Michael Enzi (R-WY) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). July 15, 2005 SHARP & CMS to Hold HIPAA Enforcement Teleconference The Southern Healthcare Administrative Regional Process (SHARP) Workgroup and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Regions IV and VI will be holding a "HIPAA Administrative Simplification Enforcement" Teleconference from 1:00 to 2:00 PM, ET, on Wednesday, July 20, 2005. The presentation will describe the administrative process and legal route taken in the enforcement of the HIPAA Rules. The New HIPAA Enforcement NPRM will also be discussed. Please call 877-203-0044 15 minutes prior to the call's start time and provide the conference ID number - 7529432. July 15, 2005 Senators to Meld Health IT Bills A bipartisan group of senators yesterday announced that they are melding their competing health IT bills, reports iHealthBeat. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) said they will combine their bill with one introduced by Sens. Mike Enzi (R-WY), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the committee's ranking Democrat. July 15, 2005 Medical Firm's Files With Personal Data Stolen The personal information of 57,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona customers was stolen from a Phoenix-based managed care company, reports the Arizona Republic. Arizona Biodyne, an affiliate of Magellan Health Services that manages behavioral health for Blue Cross of Arizona, began last Friday notifying customers and providers whose information was lost in the latest theft in which financial, personal or medical records were taken. The stolen information included policyholders' addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. They also contained partial treatment histories for some patients and certain information about the doctors who provided that care, said Biodyne 's spokesperson. July 15, 2005 Groups Back Definition of IT 'Interoperability' More than 35 organizations, including the American Hospital Association (AHA), have endorsed a definition of interoperability developed by the National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT) through a consensus process to help ensure health IT systems are able to exchange critical patient data, reports AHA News. The definition states: "In healthcare, interoperability is the ability of different information technology systems and software applications to communicate, exchange data accurately, effectively and consistently, and to use the information that has been exchanged." July 13, 2005 CMS Posts Transcript of Latest NPI Roundtable Call The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently posted the transcript of its National Provider Identifier (NPI) Roundtable conference call held on June 22. Stanley Nachimson, senior technical advisor of the Office of E-Health Standards and Services, gave an overview of CMS' role regarding the NPI. Liza Zone, Deputy Director of the Program Integrity Group, part of CMS' Office of Financial Management, addressed CMS' role as the Enumerator. Patricia Peyton of CMS' Office of Financial Management spoke about the NPI enumeration status, electronic file interchange, small batch process, and subpart designation. As of the morning of the conference call, there had been 31,714 NPIs assigned to healthcare providers. Also discussed were outreach strategies for providers, Medicare enrollment issues and Fee-for-Service readiness plans, using the NPI in standard transactions, a compliance date, practice management system, and data dissemination. July 12, 2005 Justice Dept. Opinion Muddies HIPAA Privacy Enforcement Mark Lutes, an attorney specializing in healthcare law and a partner at the Washington law firm Epstein, Becker & Green, contends that press reports, particularly from the New York Times, are incorrect in characterizing a recent Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion as cutting back on enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, reports Health Data Management. "A covered entity and the managers of a covered entity cannot conclude from the opinion that with impunity they can ignore facts and situations that could lead to a HIPAA privacy violation," he says. A recent advisory bulletin sent out by the HIPAA Law Department of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP concluded, "(b)ecause the DOJ Opinion left to the DOJ Criminal Division and local US Attorneys application of the DOJ Opinion to real world cases, we will have to await those cases to know for certain how line-level prosecutors will follow the DOJ guidance." Read Health Data Management's article, "Opinion Muddies Privacy Enforcement." Read Davis Wright Tremaine's Advisory Bulletin, "Justice Department Limits Prosecution Under HIPAA." July 12, 2005 Hope for Patient ID Dwindles It is becoming increasingly unlikely that the federal government will issue every American a unique personal health identification code, despite its seemingly obvious appeal for the architects of the national health information network, reports Government Health IT. And now many of the leaders in the drive to modernize and interconnect the nation’s health information systems say they wouldn’t rely on a single health identifier if one were to be issued. A task force created by Connecting for Health issued a report in February 2005 advocating a decentralized approach to linking patient records. July 7, 2005 CMS to Host NPI Roundtable; Proposes Database for HIPAA Complaints The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced yesterday that it will host a National HIPAA National Provider Identifier (NPI) Roundtable conference call on September 14, 2005, at 2:00 PM ET. The call-in number is 1-877-203-0044 and the identification number is 5580762. No cost or registration required. Also yesterday, CMS published a notice in the Federal Register describing a new records system that will store the results of regional investigations into complaints alleging violations of the HIPAA Transactions and Code Sets (TCS), Security and Unique Identifier provisions. Authorized under HIPAA, the HIPAA Information Tracking System (HITS) will store data on complaint allegations, information gathered during complaint investigations, and findings and results of the investigation. The notice describes proposed policies, procedures and restrictions on disclosures of the data, and invites comments on the records system. CMS will be using a contractor to manage and maintain the electronic compliants database. Read more about the HIPAA Information Tracking System. July 6, 2005 More Health IT Bills Introduced in Senate The bipartisan push for health IT legislation gathered steam June 30 with the introduction of a bill sponsored by members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), reports Federal Computer Week. The Better Healthcare Through Information Technology Act was introduced by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), chairman of the HELP committee, and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the committee’s ranking Democrat. The health IT bill is one among others that the committee will consider. Enzi told a Senate Commerce subcommittee last week that at least 18 health IT bills are pending. Enzi pointed out key provisions in the bill that would:
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