NY proposes rules for standardizing data sharing consent

A New York-based group has issued a set of recommendations this week that take on what may be one of the biggest problems RHIOs face--setting uniform standards for getting consent for sharing personal health information. The new standards, which were developed by a state-led consortium of individuals and organizations there, are intended to speed the development of a statewide health information network. 

New York has committed $105.75 million to building out health IT infrastructure, but planners note that consent to share data within such networks isn't well defined in most state and local law. For that reason, they've defined their own principles, which include that each provider must get affirmative consent referencing the RHIO before accessing data; that providers may upload patient information without patient consent; that RHIOs must conduct audits annually, inform consumers promptly of any breaches and make audit trails available upon request; and that a single consent may be used to exchange all health information, including all specially-protected health information.

To learn more about the consortium's proposal:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Study: RHIOs grows slowly, rely on grants
Patient permission for health data sharing still a big stumbling block
Report: Local RHIOs aren't likely to become national
A solution for RHIO privacy issues: EHR/EMR "banking"

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