regulators news from FierceHealthIT

Much interesting going on in health IT news this week, most of which pertains, one way or another, to connecting up disparate providers across networks. While many of these developments are Read more...

Few FierceHealthIT readers would argue it will be challenging to secure a nationally-connected EMR network against intrusion by black-hat hackers and identity thieves. (Managing user authorization and adequately limiting access will be yet another headache, but that's a story for another day.) The thing is, while the technology and know-how may exist, federal regulators aren't taking these security threats seriously enough, some critics say. Article

Despite a great deal of happy talk by regulators, legislators and vendors, doctors are still not that enthusiastic about e-prescribing. According to one study by the Center for Studying Health System Change, most doctors who switch to e-prescribing wouldn't go back to paper prescribing. But getting there is difficult, observers say. Rolling out e-prescribing technology is still costly and difficult. To date, few if any e-prescribing applications have proven simple to install, researchers …

Read more...

The recently finalized HIPAA Enforcement Rule may signal a new era of HIPAA enforcement, claims attorney Jennifer Willcox. Given the HIPAA regulators' vast authority and the significant penalties that can be imposed under these rules, she advises that a compliance monitoring plan can be a cost-effective way to reduce your health plan's potential exposure. Says Willcox, monitoring for HIPAA compliance need not be a …

Read more...