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January 29, 2009

The New Regulatory Foundation For Health Information Exchanges: EHRs, PHRs & HIPAA

New HHS guidance lays the foundation for health information exchange using electronic health records and personal health record for incoming administration initiatives.

In its most concrete effort since the publication of the HIPAA privacy rule, HHS published guidance detailing how federal medical privacy and security rules apply to electronic health record systems involved in health information exchanges.

The December guidance documents published as part of a larger federal privacy and security framework can be expected to establish the baseline for regulatory compliance with HIPAA as healthcare entities and their contractors adopt electronic patient records systems and participate in information exchanges.

In this guidance, HHS provided a foundation for the operation of electronic health record systems and what covered entities should consider in handling and sharing patient data. These regulatory expectations provide a roadmap of the issues Covered Entities need to reassess, and if necessary change their policies and practices governing protected health information.

The incoming Obama Administration has made it clear that health information technology, including EHRs, PHRs and health information exchanges, are at the forefront of their healthcare and economic reform efforts.

This guidance will play a key role in guiding those efforts, and
needs to be carefully understood by any organization using or considering such technologies.

To assist healthcare organizations and their contractors, Health Information Privacy/Security Alert sponsored a 90-minute audio seminar:

The New Regulatory Foundation for Health Information Exchanges: EHRs, PHRs and HIPAA

Participants are briefed on:

• Specific HHS Expectations Of HIPAA Compliance For EHR Systems;
• A Renewed Need To Assess And Amend Notices Of Privacy Practices;
• Where The HIPAA Guidance Implies New Responsibilities For Covered Entities And Business Associates;
• Integration Of PHRs Into Health Information Exchange And Healthcare Practice;
• Relationship Of The New Guidance To Other Federal, State And Private Initiatives And Guidance;
• HIPAA Compliance Issues For Health Information Exchanges;
• New Expectations For Business Associates; and
• The Role Paper Records Will Continue To Play In Electronic Systems.

Who Should Listen

The Faculty

John Christiansen, JD, is Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Committee on Healthcare Privacy, Security and Information Technology; a member of the technical expert advisory panel for the HHS-funded Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration; and is the principle in Christiansen IT Law. He is also a professor at the Information School of the University of Washington where he teaches Policy, Law and Ethics in the Masters of Science in Information Management Executive Program.

Dennis Melamed, editor and publisher of Health Information Privacy/Security Alert, has 30 years of experience writing about business and regulatory affairs in Washington, DC. Dennis is an adjunct professor at the Drexel College of Medicine and the chief editor and lead author of the three-volume HIPAA Handbook reference set. He is a frequent lecturer and columnist on health information confidentiality and security issues.

Continuing Education Credits

• All seminar participants will receive a certificate of participation
• 1.5 IAPP Credits - Pending

CD Ordering

The CD recording with all course materials are excellent educational and briefing resources: $275

Download the form at http://ww.melamedia.com/012909.order.form.pdf and fax it to 703.619.4912