Nevada REC Blog http://regionalextensioncenter.blogspot.com/ Continue Reading
Nevada REC Blog
read more
HHS Announces Proposed Rules for Health Insurance Exchanges
HHS Announces Proposed Rules for Health Insurance Exchanges In a Press Release posted yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a framework to assist states in building Affordable Insurance Exchanges, state-based competitive marketplaces where...
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Vermont’s Prescription Drug Data Mining Ban Law
U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Vermont’s Prescription Drug Data Mining Ban Law Last Friday, the United States Supreme Court struck down the Vermont Prescription Confidentiality Law allowing prescriber-identifying information to be sold and disclosed by pharmacies and pharmaceutical...
Maine Reverts Back to Opt-Out Approach for HIE
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...
HHS Releases Proposed Rule for Accounting of Disclosures
HHS Releases Proposed Rule for Accounting of Disclosures A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning the accounting of disclosures (AOD)requirement under the HIPAA Privacy Rule was posted last Friday, May 31, 2011. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office...
OCR Will Address Almost Everything in HITECH Omnibus Rule
OCR Will Address Almost Everything in HITECH Omnibus Rule HealthDataManagementhas quoted Susan McAndrew, deputy director of health information privacy in the Department of Health and Human Services, OCR, as saying that the final rules implementing the HITECH Act are to be released...
Sequestration of Sensitive Data with HIE: A New Jersey Pilot
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
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...
The Antitrust Headache: What ACOs, AT&T and Blue Cross have in Common
The Antitrust Headache: What ACOs, AT&T and Blue Cross have in Common So what exactly do a nation-wide health insurer and the second (potentially now first) largest U.S. wireless provider have in common? Upcoming battles over the antitrust implications of their actions and a...
CVS in the HIPAA Spotlight…Again.
CVS in the HIPAA Spotlight…Again. On March 7, CVS Caremark (CVS) hit the HIPAA spotlight again, and not in a good way. Back in 2009, CVS was the target of a joint U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Offices for Civil Rights (OCR) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)...
FTC & Attorney General Launch Inquiry into a Nevada ACO
FTC & Attorney General Launch Inquiry into a Nevada ACO ModernHealthcare.com is reporting that the Nevada Attorney General’s office and the Federal Trade Commission have launched an inquiry into a patient-care collaboration between Reno-based Renown Health and a local cardiology...
For Lack of a Proper “Print” Function – The Difficulties in Responding to Subpoenas to Produce the EHR
For Lack of a Proper “Print” Function – The Difficulties in Responding to Subpoenas to Produce the EHR Prepared by Krystyna H. Nowik, Esq. As the use of electronic health records (EHRs) and participation in health information exchanges (HIEs) expands, so does their appearance in court. ...
NJ ACO Pilot Bill Approved by Senate Budget and Appropriations
NJ ACO Pilot Bill Approved by Senate Budget and Appropriations See prior Legal HIE post “NJ ACOs, will they fly?” NEWS RELEASE Reprinted from: http://www.njsendems.com/release.asp?rid=3846 For Release: ImmediateThursday, March 03, 2011 Contact: Jason Butkowski(609) 292-5215 TRENTON – A...
One, Two HIPAA Penalty Punch from HHS and OCR
One, Two HIPAA Penalty Punch from HHS and OCR Just as gasps from the 4.3 million dollar penalty OCR assessed against Cignet Health of Maryland started to subside, OCR delivers a whopping 1 million dollar penalty to another hospital — this time to the The General Hospital Corporation and...
Kansas Aligns State Privacy Laws with HIPAA as HIE Standard
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...