Hit chapter 1

what are some of the obstacles to widespread adoption of IT in the healthcare industry?

Fragmented healthcare system, Many different systems among providers, Shortage of trained technology professionals, highly regulated industry 

what are the various ways to describe HIT ?

 Framework for managing health information, Mechanism to improve patient care, Enables patient care coordination, Application of IT to the healthcare industry 

What is hardware?

devices like keyboards, mice, etc

What is software?

instructions that tell hardware what to do

What is the definition of data?

raw facts that have little or no meaning, while information is data with meaning

what are some of the benefits of using HIT ?

– Eliminates medical transcription 
– Reduces need to physically retrieve charts 
– Reduces duplicate diagnostic tests 
– Reminding providers to prescribe cheaper drugs 

what was the cost of healthcare regulation in 2004 ?

Close to 1 trilion

who are the 4 main healthcare regulating agencies in the U.S?

Department of health and human services, Office of the national coordinator for health information technology, centers for medicare and medicaid services, National institute of standards and technology

Who does the Department of health and human services answer to?

President

Who does the Office of the national coordinator for health information technology answer to?

Department of health and human services

Who does the Centers for medicare and medicaid services answer to?

Department of health and human services

who does the National institute of standards and technology answer to?

Dept. of commerce

What does the department of health and human services do?

Provide citizens access to high-quality health care, Help people find jobs and childcare, Keep food safe, Manage infectious diseases, Extend the practice of diagnosis and treatment 

What does the Office of national coordinator for health information technology do?

Responsible for coordinating use of advanced HIT practices at the national level, Certifies EHR systems and providers 

What does the centers for medicare and medicaid services do?

Administer medicare program, Federal portion of the Medicaid program, State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) 

What does the national institute of standards and technology do?

• Federally sponsored physical science research laboratory 

•  Sets standards for EHRs under the HITECH Act 

What is medicaid?

insurance for people from low incomes

What is medicare ?

insurance for people 65 years or older & some disabilities  

what is the definition of metadata ?

• data about data," providing information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise enhances the usability and management of health-related information, for example, a radiologic image(content) can be described by patient, date, time, and so on. The patient, date, and time are metadata

• Context of data

What is HIPPA and what does it stand for?

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996), Protect the privacy of personal health records

What 4 entities are regulated by the HIPAA Privacy Rule ?

Health care providers—These may include individuals (like doctors) or organizations (like hospitals). 

Health plans—Insurance companies are exemplary health plans, but other payors are covered as well. 

Health care clearinghouses—These could include health information processing or billing organizations. 

Business associates 

What does PHI mean/stand for & what does it include

Protected Health Information

• any information that can be used to identify an individual and relates to their past, present, or future physical or mental health 

• Can exist in various forms (verbal, paper, electronic) 

who is the OCR?

responsible for enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy Rule and penalties for noncompliance 

HIPAA Security Rule

Known as ePHI, Only focuses on electronically transmitted or stored
PHI,

What is the HIPPA identifier rule

Mandates that all Covered Entities storing or transmitting ePHI have a National Provider Identifier (NPI)

what is the TCS Rule and what does it do ?

Transaction and Code Sets Rule: Mandates consistent electronic interchange of PHI

Define EDI

Electronic Data Interchange for health care

The standardized & structured exchange of electronic information b/w 2 or more parties

HITECH; what does it stand for?

Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act

When & Why was HITECH put in place?

• 2009 

• extends HIPAA’s reach by increasing confidentiality protections of ePHI, mandating tougher penalties for confidentiality breach, and requiring public notification of organizational breaches 

• Did not replace HIPAA, it backs it up & strengthens it instead 

•  HIPAA was outdated, had gaps and was not being enforced 

What are the 3 types of legal practices that fall outside the scope of traditional regulations ?

• Liability waivers

• Service Level Agreements (SLA’s)

• Memoranda of Understanding/Agreement (MOU’s/MOA’s)

What is a Liability waivers?

Used by hospitals and physicians to protect them against legal liability, Documents signed by the patient, This is only in cases of circumstances that they anticipate could happen

What is service level agreements?

Defines level of service user can expect from technology provider

What is Memoranda of Understanding/Agreement (MOU’s/MOA’s)?

Voluntary agreement between health providers, Specifies some mutually beneficial arrangement,

What are the protocols that a CE must follow in the event of a breach of PHI ?

report the breach to each individual affected in any situation, DHHS must also be contacted if more than 500 patients affected 

Before February 18, 2009

Up to $100 per violation 

Maximum $25,000 per year 

On or After February 18, 2009 (HITECH Act): 

Up to $50,000 per violation 

Maximum $1,500,000 per year