URAC :: Health Care Industry Leaders Agree, Electronic Health Records are Coming, Says URAC - 0 views
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Karl Wabst on 28 Apr 09URAC, the leading health care accreditation and education organization, announced today the recent Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference raised important questions about consumer privacy and security around electronic health records (EHR). (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030501/URACLOGO ) "There is no doubt that electronic health records are coming. The question is whether or not consumers' privacy is a key issue or an afterthought," said Alan P. Spielman, President and CEO of URAC. "A lot of forces are driving the push for EHR. However, it is important that standards go hand-in-hand with policy so that it doesn't become the Wild West with every vendor and health care provider using different terms." The rules set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are integral to the widespread adoption of EHR. However, the rules can be confusing for consumers and providers. URAC was the first organization to offer HIPAA Privacy Accreditation. The organization now offers comprehensive standards for both HIPAA Privacy and HIPAA Security accreditation. These standards are applicable to all personal health information storage formats and exchanges claims transactions and are designed for many different types of health care organizations including both Covered Entities (CE) and Business Associates (BA). They also require an ongoing compliance program that identifies, tracks and makes the necessary changes in response to a federal or state regulatory change.