ARRA and the HITECH Act:

As a result of the US Government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), physicians may be entitled to receive reimbursement from the Federal Government for the use of an EMR under the HITECH section of ARRA. To qualify for these funds (calendar year 2011-2015), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has stipulated that physicians need to use an "HHS certified" EMR (not a "CCHIT certified®" EMR) in a "meaningful way." Although the final ONC certification criteria have yet to be released, ComChart is already hard at work implementing  the functionality to bring ComChart EMR in line with the preliminary specifications.

HIPAA:

“The privacy provisions of the federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), apply to health information created or maintained by health care providers who engage in certain electronic transactions, health plans, and health care clearinghouses. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued the regulation, "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information," applicable to entities covered by HIPAA. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is the Departmental component responsible for implementing and enforcing the privacy regulation. (See the Statement of Delegation of Authority to the Office for Civil Rights, as published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2000.” - United States Department of Health & Human Service.

Your Responsibility:

Under HIPAA guidelines, it is your responsibility to insure that the data in your office is held secure and safe. It is the responsibility of the provider to choose a medical software solution that will always be up to date with HIPAA regulations and standards. Also, it is necessary for the office staff to insure that all software features regarding HIPAA are being used correctly in order for them to work properly toward HIPAA approval. It is extremely important that any member of the office staff creating or maintaining patient data be educated on HIPAA laws and guidelines.

Our Responsibility:

At ComChart, we are keenly aware of the challenges that HIPAA brings not only to the software industry, but to your medical office as well. That is why we at ComChart have dedicated ourselves to providing your office with the tools necessary to be a completely HIPAA compliant office. Because HIPAA requires medical offices to be compliant, and not medical software, it is important that we understand exactly what you, as the customer, need to be regulated under HIPAA guidelines. We continue to implement software enhancements that will help you maintain a HIPAA compliant office, such as our innovative electronic signature, our multiple levels of customizable security, our detailed employee/patient audits, our HIPAA Certified ANSI 4010 format, and our terminal auto log-off feature. We are strongly committed to developing present and future solutions to maintaining HIPAA standards. Your office is in good HIPAA standing with ComChart.

Meaningful Use:

On December 30, 2009, HHS, ONC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the specifications required of an EMR in order for it to become "HHS certified." They also published mandates required of the EMR user to prove that the "HHS certified" EMR is being used in a "meaningful way." You can learn more about "HHS certified" EMRs and "meaningful use" here. (Note: the HITECH Act does not require physicians to use a "CCHIT certified®" EMR.) To view a 50 minute hospital Grand Rounds presentation entitled: "ARRA, HITECH, EMRs and the Search for Meaningful Use," click here.