|
Foundation Members:
|
|
|
|
July 9, 2010 - Advocacy Corner
Meaningful Use Rule Expected Next Week. From various conversations, Washington rumors and some hard evidence, there is an expectation that the Final Rule will be issued some time next week. The hard evidence, submittal of the rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval, is the
last official step before publication in the Federal Register. It is also expected that the Final Rule on data standards and electronic health records certification criteria will be published at the same time.
Publication of final rules moves the process one step further, which began with the release of proposed rules
(Notice of Proposed Rule-Making/NPRM) for Meaningful Use and Standards on January 13, 2010. CHIME responded on
Meaningful Use with recommendations, such as extending the deadline for implementation to 2017 and permitting
development of an expanded suite of 34 core objectives, scaling over time. On Standards, CHIME called for a single
standard for patient summary records and a standards-based approach for submitting data to public health agencies.
Once the final rules are released, CHIME will provide early impressions to be followed by a summary and analysis
on the implications for CIOs.
Privacy NPRM Released. As part of changes enacted under the HITECH Act, HHS has published a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making
(NPRM) for HIPAA that recognizes the adoption of EHRs. The
proposed rules add teeth to HIPAA with fines applying to all business associates (hospitals, physicians as well as billing companies,
customer service contractors and other businesses) that handle patient information. Fines range from $50,000 per violation up to an
annual maximum of $1.5 million. A new HHS website (www.hhs.gov\healthprivacy) will track all activity including fines assessed.
Additionally, HHS will create a special task force of Homeland Security to make healthcare a priority as part of government cyber security plans.
July 14 opened a 60-day public comment period on the 234-page rule that proposes to:
- Expand individuals’ rights to access their information;
- Establish new limitations on the use and disclosure of protected health information for marketing and fundraising purposes;
- Restrict certain disclosures of protected health information to health plans; and
- Clarify that faxes and voice communications are not considered electronic media;
- Suppress bills or information going to a patient's insurance company if the patient self-pays the bill in full; and
- Clarify that data may not be shared across the health care and non-direct health care components just because both are within the same organization.
An ICD-10 Message from CMS. With the final Meaningful Use looming, ICD-10 is probably not high on the CIO priority list at the moment.
Nevertheless, the deadlines remain for replacing the ICD-9 coding system for medical diagnosis and inpatient hospital procedures on Oct. 1, 2013.
The first deadline is the transition to Version 5010 standard for electronic transactions on Jan. 1, 2012. A recent article from CMS noted that,
"The compliance dates are firm and not subject to change," …."If you are not ready, your claims will not be paid. Preparing now can help you avoid
potential reimbursement issues."
CMS Administrator Appointed. In an effort to avoid a Senate partisan fight, President Obama used the Congressional recess to appoint Donald Berwick as CMS Administrator. At the conclusion of the 111th Congress, Berwick must be re-nominated and confirmed by the Senate. As President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Berwick pioneered the study of how the system can provide better care at lower cost, an area of focus for various pilots and demonstrations authorized under the health reform act. CMS is fortunate to have an innovative leader to guide this effort as well as the HITECH incentive program and other Stimulus provisions for improving healthcare delivery. Berwick will be the first permanent CMS administrator since Mark McClellan departed the Agency in 2006.
StateWatch. As more focus shifts to state implementation, CHIME will periodically report developments. Readers are invited to also alert us to HIE/HIT happenings in your area.
Rhode Island: EHRs Help Health Officials During Flood Management. Collaboration between the Rhode Island health department and the Health Center Controlled Network helped state health officials monitor patient complaints and obtain “real-time monitoring” of patient conditions. Moreover, health officials were able to compare patient data from zip codes in affected areas to those in unaffected areas to observe the frequency of certain symptoms before and after the recent floods in that state. This allowed officials to assess the needs of the people affected by the floods and an efficient and effective manner. It is important to stress that patient identifiers were not used for this purpose. In short, this model mimics a fully functional Health Information Exchange. It also displays the importance of electronic patient records from a general public health point of view.
California: CEO Appointed for Health Information Exchange . Carladenise Edwards has been appointed the CEO of Cal eConnect, the non-profit organization overseeing the state Health Information Exchange. Before coming to California, she was the interim commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health, HIT coordinator for Georgia and also served as an health IT advisor to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. She also supports collaborating with other states to prevent “duplication of efforts” and making sure that California can integrate into the NHIN.
|
|
|
