Last week during the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) published a revised version of its “Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information.”
In the foreword of the guide, ONC says that its intent is to help healthcare providers ―especially Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) covered entities (CEs) and Medicare eligible professionals (EPs) from smaller organizations―better understand how to integrate federal health information privacy and security requirements into their practices. The new version of the guide provides updated information about compliance with the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs’ privacy and security requirements as well as the HIPAA Privacy, security, and breach notification rules, says ONC.
In a blog post from Lucia Savage, chief privacy officer, ONC, she says that this is the first step towards fulfilling the commitment the federal agency made in its Interoperability Roadmap— helping individuals, providers, and the health and health IT community better understand how existing federal law, HIPAA, supports interoperable exchange of information for health.
According to Savage’s post, “the guide includes practical information on issues like cybersecurity, patient access through certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT), and other EHR technology features available under the 2014 Edition Certification rule. The guide also includes new, practical examples of the HIPAA privacy and security rules in action, to help everyone understand how those rules may impact their businesses and the people they serve.”
The guide additionally offers: many scenarios for anyone who has struggled to understand when someone is or is not a business associate; provides information about when a provider (or any HIPAA-covered entity) is permitted to exchange information about an individual for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations without being required to have the individual sign a piece of paper before the exchange occurs; and provides practical tips and information about security, Savage said.
