Health IT roundup: Feds monitor privacy breaches and propose changes to HIPPA records sharing

May 31 2011

News outlets report on telemedicine, drugstore software problems and the effort to protect patient privacy.

The New York Times: Breaches Lead To Push To Protect Medical Data
Federal health officials call it the Wall of Shame. It's a government Web page that lists nearly 300 hospitals, doctors and insurance companies that have reported significant breaches of medical privacy in the last couple of years. Such lapses, frightening to consumers, could impede the Obama administration's effort to shift the nation to electronic health care records (Freudenheim, 5/30).

Modern Healthcare: HHS Proposes Changes To HIPPA Records-Sharing Rules
HHS' Office for Civil Rights has posted proposed changes to rules regarding the disclosure of patients' health information that could give patients more insight into how their information is shared. The 95-page proposed rule, to be published in the May 31 issue of the Federal Register, proposes changes to the privacy regulations under the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Conn, 5/27).

National Journal: Cutting Red Tape: Defense Bill Rider Encourages Telemedicine
A quiet rider on the Defense authorization bill passed by the House on Thursday should make it easier for veterans to get mental health treatment — and perhaps other types of medical care as well, its sponsor says. The amendment sponsored by Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., cuts through some of the red tape that hampers military doctors, psychologists, and contractors who treat service members using telemedicine, such as Skype, video link, or even simple telephone calls (Fox, 5/27).

The Arizona Republic: Drugstore Software Flaws Pose Health Risks
To prevent harmful drug interactions, pharmacies use computer software that's supposed to flag potentially dangerous combinations of drugs before a prescription order is filled. But those systems are flawed, according to a new study of Arizona pharmacies by the University of Arizona. The study found that only 28 percent of pharmacies tested with a list of 13 potentially dangerous drug interactions got a perfect score (Ryman, 5/31).