This article discusses generally certain legal and other challenges that networked HIE presents, as well as the effort of one HIE initiative that is looking to implement a technical solution to “segment” sensitive data and place it behind additional technological safeguards.
ONC’s Model PHR Notice Now Available to Vendors Following the release of its Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) has made available a Personal Health Record (PHR) Model Privacy Notice for PHR vendors to use in communicating their data practices...
Helen to Speak on Solving Privacy Dilemmas with Health Information Exchange at national Health Care Info Privacy Forum To Register, click here.
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 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...