A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology highlights data protection gaps in the U.S. for health data from wearable devices, social media, and emerging technologies. The report, “Examining Oversight of the Privacy & Security of Health Data Collected by Entities Not Regulated by HIPAA,” identifies several areas in which privacy and security protections for health data have lagged behind technological developments that are expanding the collection of health data outside the traditional venues for health care.
Tag Archives: ONC
Health IT Regulator Updates Guidance on Privacy and Security
In an effort to help members of the health IT community better understand the federal laws relating to interoperability, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, has published a revised Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information. Originally published in 2011, the updated document includes new insights about privacy- and security-related issues that will help providers, health IT professionals, vendors, and the public at large understand the different potentially applicable federal laws and incentive programs and how they fit together
Interoperability and Privacy are Buzzwords at 2015 ONC Annual Meeting
Federal health IT leaders emphasized interoperability and computable privacy during the two-day Annual Meeting of the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, which took place on February 2 and 3. Over 1,200 participants representing viewpoints across the healthcare spectrum attended the meeting in Washington, D.C. The meeting built on momentum from last week’s release of ONC’s draft Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap, as well as several high-profile announcements reinforcing the Obama Administration’s commitment to interoperability and privacy.
HIT Policy Committee Approves Accounting of Disclosure Recommendations, Including Removal of Proposed Access Report Requirement
Last week the Office of the National Coordinator’s Health IT Policy Committee approved recommendations from its Privacy and Security Tiger Team workgroup to scale back HHS’s proposed accounting of disclosures regulations. The Tiger Team developed its recommendations after months of work, including a September 30 virtual hearing in which the Tiger Team heard testimony from providers, payers, business associates, patient advocates, and other stakeholders.
HIPAA Security Rule Oversight by HHS is ‘Insufficient’ According to the OIG
The U.S. Department Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General issued two reports yesterday criticizing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (“ONC”) for doing too little to protect the security of patient health information. The first report, Nationwide Rollup Review of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services HIPAA Oversight, found that CMS oversight and enforcement “were not sufficient to ensure that covered entities, such as hospitals, effectively implemented the Security Rule.”