In March 2019, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued a Proposed Rule, 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program. ONC released a final rule in March 2020, published in the Federal Register on May 1, 2020. The Final Rule on Information Blocking prohibits actors from blocking the exchange of electronic health information and seeks to increase the ease and choices available for patients to access their data. 

We are adding additional telehealth policy information relevant to coronavirus/ COVID-19 pandemic as it impacts health centers as it becomes available.

HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the entity responsible for enforcing regulations under HIPAA, stated, effective immediately, it will exercise enforcement discretion and will not impose penalties for HIPAA violations against covered healthcare providers if patients are served on a good faith basis during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. Find out what this means in implementation by accessing this issue brief.

This decision tree, developed through funding from the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) helps organizations determine if Part 2 of CFR 42 applies to them. It should be noted that FQHCs will always be designated as “federally assisted” due to certified status as Medicaid providers and/or federal funding.

The timely exchange of health information between behavioral health providers and physical health providers to support care coordination is a critical element of the National Quality Strategy and health reform efforts. However, privacy and confidentiality concerns are currently limiting the inclusion of behavioral health data in electronic health information exchange efforts.

General cybersecurity guidance would suggest that Health IT breach should not be considered a matter of “if”, but rather a matter of “when”. How Health Centers prepare and respond to an episode of a breach is just as important as defending itself from the breach.

It is of critical importance to motivate and educate healthcare professionals on current critical privacy and security concepts and methods for defense of health data. Aspects of security awareness training, breach protection, incident response, and related topics all play a role toward organization-wide information protection. Healthcare cybersecurity is the ultimate team sport. The responsibility goes beyond the IT staff and includes front and back office staff, doctors and nurses, patients, executives, and the board of directors. The attached presentation is directed to all levels of the healthcare organization so that they may be proactive and aware.

The HIPAA Security Rule establishes the requirements for protection of electronic patient health information. The safeguards identified are made up of three domains that include administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that need to be addressed. The technical safeguards as defined within 45 CFR §164.312 of the HIPAA Security Rule can be some of the most difficult to comprehend and implement for smaller Health Centers with lower levels of IT and security staffing. Resources and tools that help Health Centers better process and implement these security requirements are much needed and require well-documented methods for planning and maintaining critical security controls.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Fact Sheets regarding the Substance Abuse Confidentiality Regulations. 

Two fact sheets include: 

• Disclosure of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records: Does Part 2 Apply to Me?
  • This fact sheet explains a 42 CFR Part 2 Program and how healthcare providers can determine how Part 2 applies to them.
• Disclosure of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records: How Do I Exchange Part 2 Data?
  • This fact sheet describes how 42 CFR Part 2 applies to the electronic exchange of healthcare records with a Part 2 Program.

FAQs about Applying the Substance Abuse Confidentiality Regulations, answers provided by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Is it acceptable/recommended for health centers to adopt the new password policy guidelines under NIST Special Publication 800-63B and will that still uphold the HIPAA security rule? This question had been posed to the HITEQ Center asking whether we had any guidance or recommendations on implementing the new NIST Guidelines regarding password security.  New Digital Identity Guidelines under NIST Special Publication 800-63-B presents new guidelines regarding password security that are much more user-friendly and consequently more likely to be observed by health center staff since constantly changing, complex password on multiple systems can be a source of frustration for the end user.