Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
Highlights of meaningful use stage 2 include the following:
1. Eligible hospitals, critical access hospitals, and eligible professionals may demonstrate meaningful use stage 2 as early as 2014. Most of the stage 1 meaningful use stage 1 menu objectives are now stage 2 core objectives.
2. Eligible professionals must…
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
In a press release today, the Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative has announced that it has awarded grants to four organizations for regional and statewide health information exchanges. The four recipients were each awarded $1.5 million. These recipients were Highmark HIE, LLC, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Inc., St. Luke’s Hospital, and HealthShare…
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
The final rule for meaningful use stage 2 for the electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs has been released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). It may be accessed here: http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-21050_PI.pdf. Eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals must meet new criteria in…
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
To see a recent post to the HIMSS blog on healthcare cloud computing, please click on this link http://blog.himss.org/2012/08/21/healthcare-cloud-computing/ to access the article. It discusses some considerations you may want to think about when selecting a cloud computing provider.
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has a pilot program called the Humanitarian Technology Challenge. It has implemented a central database in two clinics fed by information from RFID tracking cards for identifying patients and handheld mobile devices. Clinic assistants and community caseworkers assist doctors and enter patients’…
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
The FCC has a program that directs telecommunications service providers to given preferential treatment to users enrolled in the TSP program for adding or restoring service, regardless of the cause. This may include communication circuits used for voice and data communications in emergency departments, with first responders (ambulance) as well as…
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
IT security is oftentimes overlooked until it is too late. An organization may be faced with a data breach situation and, at that time, must deal with containing the risk, reporting the breach, and then determining how to prevent such problems in the future. An organization would be better…
Contributed by: Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
Senate Bill 8 was unanimously passed the House of Representatives. Pending the Governor’s signature, the passage of SB 8 creates the Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority to help govern the execution of the strategic plan we submitted to advance health information exchange in the Commonwealth. The objective of this legislation…
OCR posted on its website the protocol used to conduct the audits required by the HITECH Act. The OCR HIPAA Audit program analyzes key processes, controls, and policies of selected covered entities pursuant to the HITECH Act audit requirement. OCR established a comprehensive audit protocol that contains the requirements to be assessed through these performance…
The Office of CIvil Rights has released a memo outlining an individual’s right to access their medical information. The memo explains that though the right to see and obtain a copy of one’s medical record has always been permitted by the HIPAA Privacy Rule, “many consumers face barriers to getting their health information – and…
