EMTALA, HIPAA and Katrina

Interesting discussion about whether or not claims and potential violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) have occurred in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I haven't looked into the legal aspects of a potential violations under the actual regulations and whether there is an exemption for disaster situations.

Also I received a special Hurricane Katrina Bulletin from CMS that discussed how health care providers can disclose medical and health information in medical emergencies without violating the HIPAA privacy regulations.

New Health Care Blog: HealthcareTomorrow

A new health care blog came across my screen today thanks to a post by Hospital Impact. The blog is called Healthcare Tomorrow and is authored by Andrew Barna, a young healthcare executive who is currently Director of Strategic Development for a Catholic hospital in the Bay Area.



According to Andrew, "the purpose of this blog is to discuss U.S. healthcare today and what we should be doing to create the healthcare delivery system we want for tomorrow. I am writing for healthcare professionals, commentators, and interested citizens. The posts are my own and do not represent the views of my employer."



I especially liked Andrew's description of himself as a "young healthcare executive with at least 30 years of healthcare experience ahead of me." It's great to see someone young recognizing the value of looking forward. All too often we only look to (and value) those with experience from the past and don't always recognize those looking to create something better for the future.



I was intrigued by Andrew's first post on July 27 regarding the Sorry Works! Coalition. I recently spent some time advising a health care client on the impact a new "I'm Sorry" bill that passed the West Virginia legislation during the 2005 Legislative Session iwll have on malpractice in our state. This particular health care provider was interested in the scope of what could and should not be said during the apology after an adverse event or medical error.

The Birthday Boy!

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Originally uploaded by Coffield.

Queen of the Party

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Originally uploaded by Coffield.

My Shingle Hangs Up Blawg Review #21

Blawg Review #21 is now up for viewing at Carolyn Elefant's MyShingle.com. When I saw that Carolyn was hosting Blawg Review this week I sent her an email recalling my first interaction with her last year when I was just starting to blog. She was one of the first lawyer bloggers to recognize and comment on my "then new" blog on health care law issues. She might not have known it but it was encouragment to keep blogging -- someone out there was reading my posts.



I noticed a post this morning that Carolyn also influenced Evan Schaeffer over at Legal Underground.

Corporate Blogger Positions and the Future of Health Care Blogs

Interesting post at Real Lawyers Have Blogs on corporations creating and hiring new Corporate Bloggers. Law firms will certainly be behind the curve on this one.

What about health care providers? Many hospitals and large physician practices are very progressive on marketing and public relations related initiatives. I'm sure we will see some health care blogger positions in the near future. As an example, check out the patient blogs a pilot project being done by High Point Regional Health System.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Is Official

Today the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) is official. The National Coordinator of the ONCHIT is Dr.David Brailer.

A notice in the August 19 Federal Register outlines the structure of the ONCHIT and established four divisions, including: The Office of Health Information Technology Adoption, The Office of Interoperability and Standards, The Office of Programs and Coordination and The Office of Policy and Research.

Thanks to Health Data Management for the article tip.

CMS Issues New Educational Advice on HIPAA Security Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the sixth of seven new educational guidance documents related to implementation and compliance with the Security Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The sixth guidance issued is entitled "Basics of Risk Analysis and Risk Management."



Follwing is a complete list of the HIPAA Security Educational Paper Series:

1. Security 101 for Covered Entities

2. Security Standards - Technical Safeguards

3. Security Standards - Physical Safeguards

4. Security Standards - Organizational, Policies and Procedures and Documentation Requirements

5. Security Standards - Administrative Safeguards

6. Basics of Risk Analysis and Risk Management



Health care provider Privacy Officers and Security Officers may want to take a look at the new guidance materials.



Thanks to Health Data Management who reported on the new Security Rule advice.

New Blog by IBM Healthcare Executive Carol Kovac

A new health care blog called LifeLines is being authored by Carol Kovac, IBM's General Manager of IBM's Healthcare and Life Sciences. Ms. Kovac is responsible for the strategic direction of IBM's global healthcare and life science business.

I was fascinated when I ran across information about National Geographic and IBM's Genographic Project and the Genetic Journeys after exploring some background infomation on Ms. Kovac. Here is Ms. Kovac's genetic journey. As an avid genealogist who has tracked back my family on both sides at least 7 generations I found the project fascinating and am going to consider signing up to participate.

Thanks to Hospital Impact for pointing out LifeLines.