In a recent Tweet, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) stated: “Move into the 21st Century and check out the Privacy & Security 10-Step Plan before you implement an Electronic Health Record.” ONC makes the following recommendation to an Eligible Professional (EP) covered entity participating in the Medicare and Medicaid Financial Incentive Program for Adoption and Meaningful Use of Certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) Technology: “An EP must meaningfully use certified EHR technology for an EHR reporting period, and then attest to CMS [the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] that he or she has met meaningful use for that period. Start your 10-step process at…
Tag: Privacy Official
CMS Initiates 90-Day Enforcement Discretion for 5010 Compliance
January 1, 2012, is the date for covered entities to achieve compliance with ASC X12 Version 5010, NCPDP Telecom D.0, and NCPDP Medicaid Subrogation 3.0 transaction standards. Covered entities include healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses. Small health plans have until January 1, 2013, to comply with the NCPDP Medicaid Subrogation 3.0 standard. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS) is responsible for enforcement of compliance with electronic transaction standards. CMS announced on November 17, 2011, that “[w]hile enforcement action will not be taken [from January 1-March 31, 2012], OESS will continue to accept complaints associated with compliance with Version 5010,…
Information Access Management: Access Authorization-What to Do and How to Do It
In our series on the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Security Rule, this is the second implementation specification for the Administrative Safeguard Standard (Information Access Management). This implementation specification is addressable. Remember, addressable does not mean “optional.” Rather, an addressable implementation specification means that a covered entity must use reasonable and appropriate measures to meet the standard. Further, as we have noted in a posting last week, with enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, business associates also will be required to comply with the Security Rule standards, effective February 17, 2010. What to Do Implement policies and procedures for granting access to electronic protected…