Maine Reverts Back to Opt-Out Approach for HIE In my previous post (April 26, 2011), I discussed legislation proposed by privacy advocates in Maine which would require, among other things, that patients “opt-in” before any information could be collected, accessed or disclosed through...
One NJ HIE pilot is testing “plug in” software that scans data residing in the HIE repository and “tags” it where certain terms are found which correspond to rules developed around state and federal laws restricting access to such information unless certain pre-conditions have been met, such as the patient giving prior written consent. Once identified, the tagged data element, or document if it is not a discrete data segment, is removed from viewing, but leaving a “flag” noting that certain information is incomplete and that additional requirements need to be met before it can be accessed i.e., the patient’s affirmative consent has been obtained.
Maine Considers Opt-In Requirement for HIEs New legislation has been proposed by privacy advocates in Maine that would govern how patient information is shared through the statewide HIE, HealthInfoNet. LD 1337, which is entitled “The Act to Ensure Patient Privacy and Control with...
Kansas Aligns State Privacy Laws with HIPAA as HIE Standard Today, the State of Kansas’ Senate committee approved (by a vote of 39-0) Senate Bill 133 to align the state’s privacy laws with HIPAA. The Kansas Health Information Exchange, Inc. (the state’s RHIO) testified before the Senate...
Accounting of Disclosures Proposed Rule up for Review: The Beginning of a Collective Sigh of Relief or Covered Entities’ Newest Nightmare? Prepared by Krystyna H. Nowik, Esq. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has finally received the long-awaited proposed rule addressing...
U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Whether Prescription Data Mining is Protected under First Amendment In November 2010, legalhie.com mentioned that the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had issued its ruling that Vermont’s drug-marketing restrictions were unconstitutional. Vermont’s...
Doctors and Patients Mostly Agree on IT Government Health IT reported yesterday that according to a national survey released January 31st by the Markle Foundation, patient and physicians share many similar views regarding increasing beneficial use of health information technology to...
Are Cloud-based HIEs Subject to Twitter-Google-Facebook-like Subpoenas? In a recent New York Times article, Google, Twitter and other internet companies raise concerns regarding the wave of requests they receive for customer data from law enforcement agencies. Last year, Google counted...
(meta-data) “TAG, You-Are-It” (ONC, CMS, DHHS) ! This December 2010, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (“PCAST”) released its Report titled “Realizing the Full Potential of Health Information Technology to Improve Healthcare for Americans: The Path Forward,”...
Drug Database Firms Have Much to be Thankful for this Past Thanksgiving as Second Circuit says “Good-Bye” to Vermont’s Drug Marketing Restrictions On November 23, 2010, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its ruling that Vermont’s drug-marketing restrictions were...
The Spirit of Holiday Giving, er, Penalties… The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will be collecting a whopping $667,000 in administrative fines and penalties from six hospitals charged with privacy violations. The CDPH imposed penalties ranging from $5,000 to $250,000 on...
NCVHS Defines What Sensitive Info HIEs Should Sequester Prepared by Krystyna Nowik, Esq. The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) released an advisory letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on November 10 addressing recommendations for the...
Drug and Alcohol Treatment Info “Ok” to Go Over the summer, the ONC and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) held a session to discuss the application of the Substance Abuse Confidentiality Regulations to electronic health information exchange through HIOs...
“Psychotherapy Notes” may Come Out From the Drawer Currently, “psychotherapy notes” remains a very, very narrowly defined term under the Privacy Rule, and does not include general mental health information, including progress notes. The exact definition is: Psychotherapy notes means...
The 800-Pound HIE Gorilla Tiger in “Meaningful Use” There has been a lot of discussion around the Meaningful Use (MU) criteria. CMS has an entire website dedicated to the subject, as does ONC. Although the clinical criteria of MU may garner much of the attention, the privacy and...