The American Hospital Association on Sept. 15 expressed concern that recommendations proposed by the Health Information Technology Standards Committee would change the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s privacy and security rules “in inappropriate and unworkable ways.” For example, HIPAA-covered entities and business associates may assess whether certain HIPAA security specifications, called “addressable specifications,” are reasonable and appropriate for their specific circumstances.
The committee’s recommendations seem to convert those specifications into a uniform set of requirements that establish what it means to be in compliance, Lawrence Hughes, AHA assistant general counsel, told the committee at its meeting on Sept. 15. Among other concerns, Beth Feldpush, AHA senior associate director for policy, told the committee that “meaningful use” should primarily be defined by the ability of the IT system to help hospitals and doctors improve patient care, yet many of the proposed quality metrics do not meet this criterion.
The panel is one of two federal committees advising the Department of Health and Human Services on how to define “meaningful use” of electronic health records, which will determine which hospitals and physicians are eligible for more than $17 billion in health IT funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
