Category: ARRA

Martin Trussell
Update from Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) relating to the changes to HIPAA under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) passed as a part of ARRA. Health care organizations and health lawyers have been anxiously awaiting rules implementing and […]

dleyva
Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius and the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, David Blumenthal, announced the HITECH funding under the ARRA for State Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) and Regional Extension Center (RECs) across the country.
The White House Press Release provides a detailed list of HIEs and RECs receiving grants. Inormation is […]

dleyva
My health law colleague, David Harlow, covers the news today on the first HIPAA enforcement action taken by a state attorney general under the new HITECH provision of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
David’s post, HIPAA enforcement by state attorney general: The shape of things to come, provides a good summary […]

Jaan Sidorov
Yesterday the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued two regulations laying the foundation for improving quality, efficiency and safety through meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.
The two regulations are part of the implementation […]

Evan Falchuk
On October 30, 2009, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Administrative Simplification: Enforcement Interim Final Rule, 45 CFR Part 160 (74 Federal Register 56123, October 30, 2009).
This new rule was developed and adopted by HHS to conform the enforcement regulations under HIPAA to the […]

John Goodman
Members of the U.S. House of Representative submitted an October 1, 2009 letter of concern to Secretary Sebelius and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning inclusion of a “harm standard” in the recently released(August 24, 2009) Interim Final Rule - Breach Notification for Unsecured Protected Health Information (45 CFR […]

John Goodman
Have you had a health data security breach? Do you know what a health data breach is? Are you required to notify individuals impacted by the breach? Do you have to notify federal agencies of such breach?
Read on for more information regarding the Office for Civil Right (OCR) and Federal Trade Commission […]

John Goodman
Over the past several months I have been involved with a group in developing West Virginia’s statewide strategic plan for health information technology.
The final draft of the West Virginia Health Information Technology Statewide Strategic Plan, September 2009 is now available for review and comment. Additional comments and feedback on the strategic plan […]

John Goodman
The Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director for the Office for Civil Rights, Robinsue Frohboese, has designated Office for Civil Rights Regional Managers in each of the HHS Regional Offices to serve as the Regional Office Privacy Advisors. On July 27, 2009, Secretary Sebelius authorized the Director of the Office for Civil […]

jingemi
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released an operating plan titled the Health Information Technology American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Implementation Plan.
The operating plan is included on the DHHS Agency Wide Plan page under the “List of Recovery Programs within HHS.”
The operating plan outlines immediate actions […]