States Explain Privacy/Security Agreements

HDM Breaking News, June 5, 2009

The Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration has released a how-to guide for state cooperation in health care privacy and security issues.

Under the collaborative, 42 states and territories have worked on projects to address and harmonize privacy and security issues related to health information exchange. Durham, N.C.-based Research Triangle Institute International has managed the collaboration under a federal contract.

The new Action and Implementation Manual explains seven projects to develop common, replicable multi-state approaches that could reduce variation in state privacy and security policies. The projects covered consent data elements in state law, intrastate and interstate consent policies, tools to help harmonize state privacy laws, tools and strategies to educate and engage consumers, a toolkit to educate providers, basic security requirements, and inter-organization agreements.

The 45-page manual is available at http://healthit.hhs.gov/HISPC. Click on Action and Implementation Manual in the top right corner.

--Joseph Goedert

For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:

• Electronic Health Records
• Health Information Exchange
• Policies/Regulation
• Hospitals
• Group Practices
• Payers