Riding the HIPAA Wave
Labels: ARRA, EHR, EHR and EMR, Electronic health care regulations and compliance, Health Records, HIPAA, HITECH Act


Cygnus EHR Computing Workstations: Wall Mounted Computer Workstations and Computer CartsDesigned for form, function and flow |
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Cygnus: Workstation Solutions for HealthcareCygnus creates wood and metal computer workstation solutions with a focus on the healthcare industry. Wall mounted computer desks, charting stations, articulating arms and medication cabinets are some of our largest sellers. Also visit our Social Media page and connect with us. http://www.cygnusinc.net/get_social_with_cygnus.html Wednesday, May 4, 2011Riding the HIPAA WavePosted on ACROSEAS.com by Dr.Charu A Chitalia The concept of “portability” brings an increasing thrust on “accountability.” The portability of health information is beneficial to the patient, the physicians who record and refer back to the patient’s history and the insurance companies which settle the medical claims of the patient. Because HIPAA is used as a resource by three different parties, the risk of information breach is very high. It is a practice-driven policy where extra care needs to be taken during the transfer and storage of information. It is to be noted that for any kind of transfer, the form of the record is vital. The implementation of HIPAA paved the way for electronic versions of the patient health records (PHRs), which required an urgent enforcement of technology based regulations. Come 2009, the heat was felt and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, part of the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), was signed in the month of February by President Obama and was to come into affect by 2010. This emphasized the need and importance of going paperless when it came to PHRs. This brought in a practical way of implementation of HIPAA and gave it more importance to take affect. All the three acts — HIPAA, HITECH and ARRA — collaboratively focus on tightening the healthcare screws when it comes to patient information, use of technology and its benefits, and the penalties in cases of non-compliance. It is to be noted that prior to the enactment of HITECH, HIPAA was looked at as a mere set of rules and regulations on paper. The proposed requirements under the HIPAA were so stringent that it wasn’t practical enough to implement. For example, HIPAA requires the exchange of information through a secured encrypted email carrier. However, in reality, the healthcare professionals typically preferred the convenience of the act, rather than the security it provided. The professionals were known to use cell phones and personal laptops, which would not only overlook a secured network, but also force other issues like loss of data, attacks and malicious activities by the hackers and other third-party intruders. Previously, saying that one’s record-keeping method was “HIPAA compliant” may not have been strictly true, even though it’s clear that being so is only good option. As we are into another decade and the legions of law are looming over the healthcare industry, it is only advisable to stay put to non-fraudulent practices and monitor every move. Because the eyes of the healthcare police are on us and they wouldn’t blink in today’s age. Labels: ARRA, EHR, EHR and EMR, Electronic health care regulations and compliance, Health Records, HIPAA, HITECH Act ![]() ![]() Monday, October 26, 2009Making your Investment Pay Off
Ran across this great video by the Fox Group. The video runs about 10 minutes and goes into pretty good detail into the operational benefits, financial incentives, and potential pitfalls of migrating a medical practice to an electronic health record system.
Labels: ARRA, EHR, Electronic Health Records, EMR, HITECH Act ![]() ![]() Tuesday, April 28, 2009HIMSS Publishes Its Definitions of 'Meaningful Use'![]() CHICAGO (April 27, 2009) - On Monday, April 27, HIMSS published its definitions of ‘meaningful use of certified EHR technologies,’ as outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). HIMSS sent a cover letter, plus two definitions: 1) meaningful users of certified EHR technologies and 2) meaningful use for hospitals, to the National Coordinator of Health IT and the Acting CMS Commissioner, within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ARRA calls for multiple years of Medicare incentive payments to hospitals and physicians who meet the requirements of “meaningful use of certified EHR technology” (an electronic health record). To be eligible for the incentive payments, hospitals and physicians must use the technology in a meaningful manner; to exchange electronic health information to improve the quality of care; and, submit clinical quality measures – and other measures – as selected by the Secretary of HHS. Further, hospitals and physicians must meet the definition within a specified time frame, which as described in ARRA, must be made increasingly stringent over time by the Secretary. Read the full article HERE> Labels: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, EHR Technologies, HIMSS09 ![]() ![]() Thursday, February 12, 2009American Recovery and Reinvestment Act![]() Today Ed Jones writes on HIPAA home site about the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Tuesday afternoon the Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the so-called Economic Stimulus bill. Previously, the House of Representatives passed its version, H.R. 1. Now, the joint House-Senate conference committee will resolve funding and language differences in the House and Senate versions of ARRA. As we have noted earlier, each of these versions contains incentives for adoption of health information technologies, which are described in the so-called HITECH provisions of the House and Senate versions. President Obama is expected to sign a reconciled bill in the near future, assuming that the Democrats in the Senate can achieve at least 60 votes in a procedural motion to move the bill to the floor of the Senate for a vote. Once signed into law, HIPAA.com will provide a detailed analysis of funding, language, and timeframe provisions of the reconciled HITECH provisions. READ MORE>>> Labels: ARRA, Economic Stimulus Bill, Electronic Health Records, Healthcare computing, HIPAA, security ![]() ![]() |
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