General Surgery Coding Alert

Privacy protection is just one aspect of the law.

Due to a multitude of state laws and confusion about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has found that HIPAA implementation has inadvertently inhibited the appropriate flow and exchange of health information between patients and healthcare providers.

In response to the issues caused by protective measures, the ONC decided to invest in the states’ efforts to overcome these obstacles in order to provide quality care.

“That’s why ONC awarded a cooperative funding agreement to the National Governors Association (NGA) to identify potential steps that could improve the flow of electronic health information within, and among states,” according to Lucia Savage, J.D., former chief privacy officer, and Peyton Isaac J.D., B.S.N., senior privacy policy analyst in a recent ONC press release. “We are thrilled to announce that, under that agreement, NGA has released a comprehensive road map for states to improve interoperability: Getting the Right Information to the Right Health Care Providers at the Right Time: A Road Map for States to Improve Health Information Flow Between Providers.”

The NGA compiled the primer after discussing issues with health policy workers, health IT leaders, vendors, and stakeholders. The NGA road map hopes to improve the exchange of ePHI while assisting states with traversing their own individual laws and privacy mandates, so “they can learn from each other” and protect patient privacy in the process.

Resource: To read the ONC news release with a link to Getting the Right Information to the Right Health Care Providers at the Right Time: A Road Map for States to Improve Health Information Flow Between Providers, visit www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/privacy-and-security-of-ehrs/roadmap-states-addressing-privacy-policy-barriers-availability-flow-electronic-health-information/.