We know by now that protected health information (PHI) and other personal information is vulnerable to hackers. Last week, the Washington Times reported that the Department of Health and Human
Continue Reading Hackers: Take My Health Information, But Please Don’t Take My Health
Privacy and Security
Connecticut Supreme Court Decision Depicts Rubik’s Cube of Federal and State Privacy and Security Compliance
By Elizabeth G. Litten on
As if compliance with the various federal privacy and data security standards weren’t complicated enough, we may see state courts begin to import these standards into determinations of privacy actions…
Continue Reading Connecticut Supreme Court Decision Depicts Rubik’s Cube of Federal and State Privacy and Security Compliance
Will Unearthing the FTC’s Data Security Standards Help the Health Care Industry?
By Elizabeth G. Litten on
As a regulatory lawyer, I frequently find myself parsing words and phrases crafted by legislators and agencies that, all too often, are frustratingly vague or contradictory when applied to a…
Continue Reading Will Unearthing the FTC’s Data Security Standards Help the Health Care Industry?
Patients’ “Meaningful Use” of Electronic Health Information Proposed as Core Measure for Provider Incentive Payments from Feds
By Elizabeth G. Litten on
Two new provisions in the Stage 2 “meaningful use” criteria measure the meaningful use required for provider incentive payments based not simply on the providers’ use of EHR, but on their patients’ use of it.
Continue Reading Patients’ “Meaningful Use” of Electronic Health Information Proposed as Core Measure for Provider Incentive Payments from Feds
Insurance Companies Finalize Plans to Post Electronic Health Records On The Internet
By Fox Rothschild LLP on
Hartford Business Journal recently reported that privacy groups are sounding alarms as the nation’s largest insurance companies finalize plans to allow millions more customers to post their health records on the Internet. Insurers like Hartford-based Aetna Inc. say Web-based tools help patients and physicians keep track of medical information while potentially holding down spiraling medical costs. The articles stated that about 100 million insurance customers in the U.S. have access to Web-based tools, but companies don’t have an estimate of how widely they are used. Insurers hope to at least double the technology’s reach by the end of next year . . .Continue Reading Insurance Companies Finalize Plans to Post Electronic Health Records On The Internet