Personal Health Records
March 2009
On February 12, 2009, a congressional conference committee reached agreement on a final economic stimulus bill, which was signed into law by President Obama. Included in the legislation were six provisions on health intellectual property (HIT). The following summary is provided by Avalere Health, a consulting company that has worked with NHC.
| Description of Key Provision | Stakeholder Implication |
|---|---|
| Codifies the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT (ONC), establishes a Chief Privacy Officer within ONC, and creates two Federal Advisory Committee Act-compliant committees on HIT Policy and HIT Standards. | The creation of the new HIT advisory committees leaves the future of the National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) unclear and may threaten client’s existing ties or provide new engagement opportunities. |
| Establishes financial incentive program that includes bonus payments (e.g., $41,000- $64,000 for physicians and at least $2 million for most hospitals) for “meaningful use” of EHRs. Also includes phased-in penalties for non-adoption. | These payments do not provide any upfront funding. Physicians’ lack of initial capital may create opportunities for creative financing options and new alliances to support physician investment. |
| Creates state planning and implementation grants to promote HIT adoption and use and develop loan funds for providers wishing to invest in HIT. | These programs may offer clients potential partnership and visibility opportunities in new states, regions, and communities. |
| Funds demonstrations to integrate health IT training into clinical education and provides assistance to higher education institutions to establish and expand health informatics programs. | Interested clients may look to partner to develop and drive specific HIT curricula. |
| Specifies breach notification procedures for HIPPA-covered entities and non-covered entities. | There are some exceptions to these onerous requirements, including inadvertent disclosures of protected information or if data was encrypted. |
| Prohibits sale of information except in limited circumstances (e.g., research, public health, treatment). | The exceptions for research and public health still provide some avenues for interested stakeholder to access and use protected data. |
Staff contact: Marc Boutin, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
