HIPAA Modernization Needed, Experts Say
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- AMIA, AHIMA issue joint recommendations to modernize document-centric HIPAA for data-centric world
Modernization of the 22- year -old Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) would improve patients' access to their health information and protect their health data in a burgeoning app ecosystem, said experts from
The session,"Unlocking Patient Data - Pulling the Linchpin of Data Exchange and Patient Empowerment," noted that access to information and the ability to integrate and use information has changed how individuals book travel, find information about prices and products, and compare and review services. Despite these advances, healthcare has not been able to create a comparable patient -centric system.
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"AHIMA's members are most aware of patient challenges in accessing their data as they operationalize the process for access across the healthcare landscape," said AHIMA CEO Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE." The language in HIPAA complicates these efforts in an electronic world."
Specifically, AM IA and AHIMA recommend that policymakers modernize HIPAA by either establishing a new term, "Health Data Set," which includes all clinical, biomedical, and claims data maintained by a Covered Entity or Business Associate, or by revising the existing HIPAA "Designated Record Set" definition and require Certified Health IT to provide the amended DRS to patients electronically in a way that enables them to use and reuse their data.
A new definition for "Health Data Set" would support individual HIPAA right of access and guide the future development of ONC' s Certification Program so individuals could view, download, or transmit to a third party this information electronically and access this information via application programming interface. Alternatively, a revision of the current DRS definition would provide greater clarity and predictability for provider s and patients.
The groups also noted that a growing number of mHealth and health social media applications that generate, store, and use health data require attention as part of a broader conversation regarding consumer data privacy.
AMIA and AHIMA said that
Beyond HIPAA, panelists discussed the success of efforts to share clinical notes with patients during visits, including the successful OpenNotes initiative, and recommended that federal officials look for ways to encourage more providers to share notes with patients through federal policies, such as Medicare and Medicaid payment programs.
"More than two decades after
Additionally, AMIA and AHIMA recommended federal regulators clarify existing regulatory guidance related to third -party legal requests, such as those by attorneys that seek information without appropriate patient -direction.
"HIM professionals continue to struggle with the existing
For more on the briefing and for additional resources, click here (http://amiahill18-patientaccess.strikingly.com/).
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