While our representatives in Congress hash out healthcare reform, the executive branch of the government is already moving forward with aggressive new regulations aimed at ensuring the security of electronic medical health records and healthcare information systems. Whatever changes Washington imposes upon the healthcare industry, existing laws like the HITECH Act, a recently strengthened HIPAA, [...]

Building on the historic $19 billion investment provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), efforts continued today to further the national adoption and implementation of health information technology (HIT) — an essential tool to modernize the health care system and bring about improved health for all Americans. The Health Information [...]

Even though the US Senate is likely to pass the stimulus package in the next day or two, the House and Senate still have to come to an agreement on their funding differences. The HITECH Act is still holding its own with some possible additions to the $20 billion agreed upon by the House. Key [...]

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), which, among other things, created financial incentives for physicians and other providers to adopt and utilize electronic health records (EHR) and penalties for those physicians who do not.  The provisions addressing the incentives are known as the Health Information Technology for [...]

The reimbursement schedule for EHR adoption is aggressive.  Over the weekend, we spent more time pouring over the Stimulus Bill, (formerly known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA), which Obama is scheduled to sign on Tuesday, Feb. 17th. Within the ARRA, (Division B, page 489) is a very aggressive schedule to meet the [...]

Two key Son of HIPAA rules mandated by the HITECH Act are now effective.  Both the FTC and HHS have finalized their security breach notification requirements and have assured the regulated community that they have six months to get their collective houses in order. Please take the time to peruse both the HHS Son of [...]

Many of our readers were in the listening audience yesterday for the MLA webcast, “Cut the Cord: Connecting to Our Mobile Users.”  In the webcast, I discussed some funding opportunities, including those in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  A part of ARRA, is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical [...]

To help stimulate the economy, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law on February 17, 2009 by President Barack Obama. A large part of the Recovery Act addresses health information technology. It gives incentives for hospitals and business to switch to electronic health record systems. These changes are expected to improve the quality of [...]

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was signed into law on February 17, 2009, to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology. Subtitle D of the HITECH Act addresses the privacy and security concerns associated [...]

(1) BREACH.– (A) IN GENERAL.–The term breach means the unauthorized acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of protected health information which compromises the security or privacy of such information, except where an unauthorized person to whom such information is disclosed would not reasonably have been able to retain such information. (B) EXCEPTIONS.–The term breach does not [...]

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH Act”)—part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009—includes rules and regulations that will soon expand HIPAA requirements for covered entities and business associates, and create new obligations for vendors of personal health records (“PHR”) and related entities. Starting September 23, 2009, the [...]

Those who are superstitious may believe that bad things happen on Friday the 13th, but we will leave it to each individual and entity to formulate conclusions regarding the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (the HITECH Act), which Congress passed late on Friday, February 13, 2009, and President Obama officially signed [...]

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide reimbursement incentives for eligible professionals and hospitals who are successful in becoming “meaningful users” of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.  These incentive payments begin in 2011 and gradually decrease. Starting in 2015, providers are expected [...]

HHS issued regulations requiring health care providers, health plans, and other entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to notify individuals when their health information is breached. These “breach notification” regulations implement provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, passed as part of American Recovery [...]