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Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act


CMS issues compliancy reminder for HIPAA orgs in January 2011

Industry News | Tuesday, August 31 2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a reminder to healthcare providers, health plans, clearinghouses and vendors about the approaching January 2011 compliance date for testing transaction standards.
 

Alabama extends Medicaid management deal with HP

Industry News | Tuesday, August 24 2010
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has signed a $135 million, eight-year technology services contract with the Alabama Medicaid Agency, which oversees the Medicaid program for more than 900,000 state residents.
 

Report: Best practices using health IT could create significant ROI

Top Stories | Monday, August 23 2010
A healthcare provider that creates a best practices IT platform to house and share medical records, manage hospital resources more transparently and define precise guidelines for medically authorized tests and procedures can generate significant operating efficiencies, according to analysis published in McKinsey Quarterly.
 

California system reduces password fatigue with Imprivata

Contracts & Installations | Thursday, August 05 2010
ValleyCare Health System, of Pleasanton, Calif., has implemented Imprivata's OneSign to manage passwords and provide its clinicians with access to EMR applications.
 

SXC tunes software for D.0 compliance; releases 2Q financials

Industry News | Thursday, August 05 2010
SXC Health Solutions has completed the development and testing of software to support the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) version D.0 of the NCPDP Telecommunication Standard.
 

HIT Standards Committee: Don’t fix what isn’t broken

Industry News | Wednesday, July 28 2010
Written by Gina Narcisi
Since the last HIT Policy & Standards Committee Enrollment Workgroup update, three workgroup meetings have been held and four tiger teams have been activated around privacy and security and in keeping with the think-big-but-start-small principle, said Aneesh Chopra, chair and chief technology officer of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
 

Redspin extends HIPAA security assessment to healthcare industry

New Products | Wednesday, July 28 2010
Security technology company Redspin is now offering an additional HIPAA security assessment service for the healthcare industry segment, addressing requirements of the HIPAA security rule and the HITECH Act through a risk-based approach.
 

Rite Aid pays HHS $1M over HIPAA violations

Top Stories | Tuesday, July 27 2010
Rite Aid, along with its 40 affiliated entities, have agreed to pay $1 million to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
 

MedForce Scan gains prelim CCHIT ARRA certification

Regulatory News | Thursday, July 15 2010
MedForce Technologies’ document management software, MedForce Scan, has received preliminary American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) certification as an EHR Module following inspection by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT).
 

AMDIS: Health execs initially pleased with meaningful use rules

Conference News | Wednesday, July 14 2010
Written by Mary Stevens
OJAI, Calif.—A first look at the 864-page final rule for Meaningful Use and EHR Certification shows that policymakers “listened and responded” to some physicians’ concerns, said speakers Pat Wise, RN, vice president of healthcare information systems at HIMSS, and Michael Zaroukian, MD, PhD, CMIO and associate professor of medicine at Michigan State University, during a presentation at the annual AMDIS Physician-Computer Connection Symposium Wednesday.
 

HHS attempts to strengthen HIPAA privacy rules with new NPRM

Top Stories | Thursday, July 08 2010
“Today, we begin to make real the phrase ‘private and secure’ as operative characteristics of that ambitious project of improving health information in the U.S.,” said David Blumenthal, MD, the national coordinator for health IT during a Thursday press conference concerning the notice of proposed rulemaking published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the July 8 edition of the Federal Register to strengthen HIPAA privacy and security rules.
 

Conn. AG, Health Net reach $250K settlement over large security breach

Industry News | Thursday, July 08 2010
Health Net and its affiliates have reached a settlement with the Connecticut Attorney General (AG) Richard Blumenthal over Health Net’s failure to secure private patient medical records and financial information on nearly half a million Connecticut enrollees and promptly notify consumers endangered by the breach.
 

CynergisTek unveils IT security for smaller health orgs

New Products | Thursday, July 01 2010
Security IT company CynergisTek has released three new offerings designed for healthcare organizations with fewer than 100 beds to provide small healthcare organizations with IT and security services, which include IT support services, email technology and a HIPAA/HITECH security compliance review.
 

VA selects ESN to upgrade VistA for HIPAA standards

Contracts & Installations | Thursday, June 10 2010
Engineering Services Network (ESN) won a $7.9 million contract from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to upgrade the agency's Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) to meet HIPAA electronic transaction standards for enabling a third-party payment system.
 

Harris wins VA contract for HIPAA compliance

Contracts & Installations | Thursday, June 03 2010
Communications company Harris has been awarded an eight-month subcontract to support the Veterans Health Administration’s migration to updated standards under HIPAA.
 

MGMA: New HIPAA disclosure requirements are too costly, burdensome

Industry News | Wednesday, May 19 2010
The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights  in response to the request for information on the new HIPAA privacy rule for disclosures under the HITECH Act, suggesting that the new accounting for disclosures requirements are burdensome and onerous for medical practices.
 

Georgia provider selects Imprivata to secure McKesson EMR data

Contracts & Installations | Monday, May 17 2010
Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Ga., has chosen Imprivata to secure access to McKesson EMRs for its more than 4,000 users with Imprivata OneSign.
 

HHS requests information on PHI disclosures

Industry News | Tuesday, May 04 2010
The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has posted a request for information to understand the interests of individuals regarding protected health information (PHI) disclosures and the administrative burden on covered entities and business associates of accounting for such disclosures.
 

Panel: How do HIEs, EMRs affect patient-physician experience?

Industry News | Thursday, April 29 2010
Written by Jeff Byers
BOSTON–Better monitoring is needed to understand how EMRs and health information exchange (HIE) impact the patient’s experience of care and best practices need to be shared to improve these technologies, Barbra G. Rabson, executive director at Massachusetts Health Quality Partners reported Thursday at the Health IT: Creating Jobs, Reducing Costs and Improving Quality national conference, hosted by Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
 

OCR proposes to expand PIMS in HITECH Act

Industry News | Friday, April 16 2010
The Office for Civil Right (OCR) in the Department of Health and Human Services, in accordance with the Privacy Act, has proposed to modify the Program Information Management System (PIMS), regarding its use of data from organizations concerning breaches of protected health information.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.

CMS webinar: Eligible professionals can expect EHR incentives in 2011

Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.

Webinar: Stage 1 of meaningful use is for quality reporting acclimation

Stage 1 requirements for meaningful use incentives aim to strike a balance between the overall goal of EHR use and widespread adoption, while avoiding added work, said Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer at Elsevier Health Services, during a HIMSS webinar titled “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care.”

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