Don’t Wait to Understand How “FHIR” Will Transform Health Information Exchange, or You’ll Feel the Heat When it Ignites!

Don’t Wait to Understand How “FHIR” Will Transform Health Information Exchange, or You’ll Feel the Heat When it Ignites!

by | Jul 14, 2020 | , ,

CMS & ONC have promulgated their Final Rules to implement the 21st Century Cures Act. A main goal is to accelerate the access, exchange and use of electronic health information (EHI).  One way this is being accomplished is to require certain entities and actors to provide Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that use a new standard for data access and exchange called Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (aka “FHIR”).  These new standards for adopting FHIR for information exchange is expected to exponentially accelerate individuals ability to access and share EHI through mobile apps, as well as allow any third-party adopting such FHIR standards to obtain access to such EHI. Especially for HIPAA Privacy Officers, Security Officers, Compliance Officers and attorneys who have for years focused on ensuring that their organizations do not make the mistake of releasing protected health information to a third-party in violation of federal or state privacy and security laws, I feel your pain on FHIR! 

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Is Your Organization Ready to Send Patient Information to Apps by November?

Is Your Organization Ready to Send Patient Information to Apps by November?

by | Jun 19, 2020 | , , ,

Becker’s Hospital Review reported that 70% of CIOs are “concerned” about meeting the upcoming November 2nd deadline for complying with the Final Rules prohibiting information blocking practices. This is according to a survey conducted by CHIME, which included responses from executives at academic medical centers, critical access hospitals, multi-hospital systems and specialty hospitals.  Although the survey did not appear to identify specifically what concerns CIOs about complying with information blocking rules by this fall, one possibility is fully understanding how ONC’s information blocking rules will apply to releasing patients’ EHI to third-party apps.

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WEBINAR: Learn Which HIPAA Policies to Revise for ONC’s New Information Blocking Rule, Plus More!

WEBINAR: Learn Which HIPAA Policies to Revise for ONC’s New Information Blocking Rule, Plus More!

by | Jun 9, 2020 | ,

Join the NJ Chapter of HIMSS and Helen Oscislawski for this Webinar to get a lean and focused overview of what you need to do to comply with ONC’s and CMS’s final rules implementing the 21st Century Cures Act. On April 24, 2020, the OIG also released its Proposed Rule on CMPs to be imposed against Actors who engage in prohibited “Information Blocking.” These new rules turn on their heads certain HIPAA policies and procedures.

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Will ONC’s Final Rule put HIEs between a “Block and a Hard Place”?

Will ONC’s Final Rule put HIEs between a “Block and a Hard Place”?

by | May 18, 2020 | ,

Under the ONC’s Final Rule on Information Blocking, Health Care Providers, HIEs and HINs will be legally prohibited from interfering with the access, exchange, or use of EHI unless an exception applies. However, HIEs/HINs that are HIPAA Business Associates are not allowed to use or further disclose PHI other than as permitted or required by their HIPAA BAAs with respective health care providers. So, what happens if a Health Care Provider and its HIPAA Business Associate HIE/HIN disagree on whether an exception allows EHI to be withheld from access, exchange or use under a certain set of specific facts?

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ONC Delays Enforcement of the Information Blocking Certification Provisions of its CURES Act Final Rule for 3 months

ONC Delays Enforcement of the Information Blocking Certification Provisions of its CURES Act Final Rule for 3 months

by | Apr 22, 2020 | , ,

Today, ONC announced that it will exercise its discretion in enforcing all new requirements under its Cures Act Final Rule which have compliance dates and time frames until 3 months after each such date identified in the Final Rule.  The ONC Final Rule is scheduled to be published on May 1, 2020 in the Federal Register.  The ONC has developed an “Enforcement Discretion Dates and Time frames” chart which indicates that the Part 170 Information Blocking provisions will have a compliance Enforcement Discretion Date of February 1, 2021.

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