Help Sought on Financial Services Reports

HDM Breaking News, May 15, 2009

The Electronic Health Network Accreditation Commission and the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange are seeking industry participation to develop two white papers assessing the financial services industry's role in health care.

Farmington, Conn.-based EHNAC accredits health care transactions processors--including financial institutions--for meeting specific performance criteria. Reston, Va.-based WEDI is an industry advocacy organization.

The groups are developing a "Financial Services Current State in Healthcare" paper to be released on Sept. 30, and a "Financial Services Best Practices Guidelines for the Healthcare Sector" paper to be released during the first quarter of 2010.

Following enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which strengthened HIPAA privacy and security requirements, questions regarding the responsibilities of financial institutions should be clarified, says Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC. "A defined framework that can prevent any misunderstandings in financial organizations' data security and protection requirements and safeguards is necessary."

For more information on participating or providing feedback, visit ehnac.org or wedi.org.

--Joseph Goedert

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