Web-Tones

The Problem with Health Care Standards?

The Health Care Blog: Should Health Care Standards be Open Source?.This post from the THCB does an excellent job of identifying one of the problems (perhaps the core problem) with health care standards, that  is that they are closed (i.e. not free and open source for the most part). I am not talking about EHR software (or any other kinds of health care software), I literally mean the standards themselves, developed by various standards development organizations (SDO's).

Why? Because just about everything within the health care industry is closed. That is an indication of just how powerful the incumbents are across the board (providers, hospitals, insurance companies, software vendors, standards organizations, you name it). It is a dysfunctional marketplace precisely because it controlled by a relatively few. There is no real competition and that hasn't changed in fifty years because for the most part, the incumbents like the status quo. Who can blame them?

The industry will never be transformed from the inside. It is one of America's great remaining oligopolies. At a minimum, if we are going to make any progress at all with respect to interoperability then we need open standards. Period. Does anyone believe for a moment that the technology industry would have advanced according to Moore's Law without open standards? NO WAY. In the technology industry we have seen quality go up and prices come down. What about the health care industry? I will let you answer that question for yourself.

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking Software?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store. Do you need an Internet Lawyer with HITECH / HIPAA experience?

 

Health Care Reform: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way!

I usually do not jump into policy wonk discussions about heathcare reform. Why? Because on the broader issue of reform I do not have much to add to the conversation. However, I do KNOW that our current system is broken beyond belief and therefore, the status quo is simply not an acceptable/viable option. To see an entertaining "back of the napkin view" refer to this post. So this is a purely personal post. If you do not agree with my position regarding the status quo then this is a good place to stop reading.

One side of this debate apparently wants to do nothing, and wants to use the worst kind of demagoguery to achieve their status quo objective . They see it purely as a political fight that must be won at all costs. Sure, go ahead and use hate (which is likely to lead to violence) to achieve your political agenda. We have seen this movie before in American politics and it doesn't have a nice ending. Why not engage in a civil and constructive manner instead? In the marketplace of ideas there is lots of room.

We need to put aside this "do nothing" BS and decide to do something for the sake of our children and our grandchildren, and ultimately for our own sakes as well. Doing something is not only the morally right thing to, it is economically the right thing to do. In short, doing nothing only serves the interest of the few at the expense of the many. It is a completely unsustainable alternative.

In the Appendix of the HIPAA Survival Guide we close with the following:

It is through grace, divine mercy, and the awesome power of the almighty that a sick nation will become well again. We all have a role to play, but it will take a firm belief in something greater than ourselves to reach this objective. Future generations are relying on us to do the work and keep the faith.

In short, health care reform matters. It may be the single most important domestic political agenda item of our generation. It is simply unconscionable to remain on the sidelines and not to engage. However, whatever your religious beliefs, engaging in the conversation need not, and must not, be seen as an opportunity to engage by fanning the flames of hatred.

What purpose does that serve?

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store. Do you need an Internet Lawyer with HITECH / HIPAA experience?

 

Meaningful Use: Connecting with Patients?

Although providers have been slow to adopt email as a mode of communication with patients because of HIPAA, privacy, and other reasons, that may soon be changing.  Patients will come to expect providers to be electronically enabled, including the millions of retiring baby boomers. It is simply the way a large section of the population communicates, and healthcare providers can no longer afford to be the last of the Luddites. Those that refuse to engage will likely be at a competitive disadvantage. In addition, giving the "data sharing imperatives" acknowledged by the IOM and others, providers may soon be required to collaborate with patients, colleagues, and other stakeholders via non-traditional methods.

Engaging with patients and families is now part of HITECH's "meaningful use" use definition. Google Apps is potentially one Internet based method that can be to engage patients.  It provides Gmail as a "branded" cloud-based and inexpensive (free and/or low cost depending on the option) email and collaboration solution using your practice's Internet domain name. All emails related to a specific patient can be tagged with a patient identifier for instant "findability." In addition, Gmail's out-of-the-box search functionality can be used to find messages even when not tagged. Email will not be the only collaborative communications platform used by providers, but it will certainly be a core component. Google Apps, via it Sites feature, allows providers to readily build Intranets for hosting all sorts of internal information, including their compliance polices.

To see how Genentech and others are using Google Apps for email and collaboration click here.

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Software?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store. Do you need an Internet Lawyer with HITECH / HIPAA experience?

 

 

Twitter & Virus Tracking?

Twitter: Growing Virally But Can It Stop Viruses?. Interesting post from Chris Thorman
regarding the use of Twitter by health care professionals to track viruses. Of course, as the post highlights, there are many issues to be worked out before this concept becomes widely adopted, not the least of which are the privacy and security issues.

As a Privacy Lawyer that focuses on HIPAA/HITECH compliance, I understand why the the health care industry will be slow to adopt social media, but I am convinced that over time the privacy and security issues will be managed in a manner that both protects consumers and allows for innovation, similar to how analogous challenges were met with repect to online banking.

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

Does HIPAA Preempt State Privacy Laws?

Minnesota Court of Appeals decision extends privacy claims to Internet - TwinCities.com. This will be an interesting case to watch. HIPAA, which does not currently allow an individual to bring a privacy suit (i.e. an individual's only recourse is to file a complaint with HHS) will not necessarily preempt state law if the state law is more "stringent."

As privacy continues to be a hot issue, you should expect to see more suits along these lines. Since revealing protected health information (PHI) is a BIG DEAL, I would expect the MN court to hold that HIPAA does not occupy the field, but rather provides baseline protection that states can enhance.

This topic is covered in the HIPAA Survival Guide.

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

HHS Privacy & Security Guidance

HealthIT.hhs.gov: Privacy & Security Framework. As discussed in the HIPAA Survival Guide it looks like HHS is taking additional steps to provide much needed guidance to small primary care providers for dealing with the "monstrous" regulatory scheme that is emerging as part of the move to electronic health records (EHRs).

The little guys are going to need a lot of help if they have any hope of complying with the new regulations in an economically rational way. They need to continue to push HHS to do more of the same.

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

HITECH Act: HIPAA Survival Guide (HSG) Online

I recently launched a website that has The HIPAA Survival Guide (HSG) viewable online. The HSG is a concise overview of the HIPAA Regulations in light of the new HITECH Act (part of President Obama's recent economic stimulus package.) I thought I'd pass it on in hopes it might be useful to some of you.

The entire contents of the guide are available online here:
http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com/

The HITECH Act summary page is available here:
http://hipaasurvivalguide.com/hitech-act.html

or, you can download a .pdf file of the guide here:
http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com/hipaa-survival-guide.html

 

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

Heathcare War: It is Game On!

The Health Care Blog: Fear and Loathing over the Stimulus Bill. The first thing to note is that obviously this fight is not about healthcare, electronic medical records, or any such thing. It is much more sinister than that. It is about power.

This war was not unexpected. Now that it is here and raging the only sane thing to do is engage in the fight. The most insane thing to do is to reason with people who live in a world where facts don't matter. If we want change, which we do, then let's get at the business of fighting the good fight. Our lives literally depend on it.

Give me back my bullets...put 'em back where they belong. This is war between ideology and ideas. It we let the former prevail then God help us.

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

Moving forward? Yes!

Healthcare & Technology: eClinical Nirvana?. Debbie makes some great points here and I just wanted to add that whatever the merits of the arguments regarding the specifics of the stimulus package, as it relates to healthcare, there is certain to be movement.

Given the current state of system, any movement is preferable to the status quo! Why? Because the status quo needs to be jolted into changing its current zero sum competitive posture, otherwise we can all look forward to a "death of 1000 cuts" as we slowly sink into further absurdity.

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

Focusing on EMR's Misses the Point

Given the funding available in the stimulus package for adoption of electronic medical records it is little wonder that the buzz factor has increased significantly around this topic. Healthcare is one industry likely to see significant economic activity over the next few years and most stakeholders are furiously jockeying for position.

This positioning is clearly to be expected, especially by healthcare technology vendors and standards organizations. However, as discussed here, the focus on technology and standards needs to be considered in the proper context. These objectives cannot be viewed as ends but rather as foundational to creating a more competitive healthcare industry.

The latter is the real objective and must remain the central focus of everything else required to underpin it. If the focus shifts to point technology solutions the battle is nearly lost. The naysayers will have a field day providing a thousand and one reasons why any point solution will cost too much and not deliver the promised value.

Lost in most of this discussion is the value to the patient in the form of better outcomes and the strategic value to high quality providers that help deliver them (i.e. assuming that payment systems can be altered in a manner that rewards this  kind of behavior).

The movement toward electronic heath records is simply foundational to the the transformation of the healthcare industry. That it why we must move forward. If we don't build the foundation and infrastructure needed to support a 21st healthcare industry than other high value initiatives (e.g. alternative payment schemes) will remain interesting ideas that have no effective way of being implemented.

Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.