In a press release from the Department of Health and Human Services today, HHS followed up on an announcement it made earlier this year by pushing back the ICD-10 compliance date exactly one year to October 1, 2014. Calls from provider groups to extend the deadline came on the heels of a related difficult transition to the ASC X12 Version 5010 standards for electronic health care transactions, a necessary technical precursor to the ICD-10 transition.... [More]

In what is believed to be the first enforcement action stemming from the HITECH Breach Notification Rule, HHS issued a press release announcing a settlement between regulators and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee (BCBST). Citing potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, HHS settled the case with BCBST for $1,500,000 and BCBST’s assent to submit itself to a corrective action plan to address gaps in its HIPAA compliance program. The incident that triggered the lawsuit was a theft reported by BCBST of 57 PHI-containing computer hard drives from a leased facility in Tennessee.... [More]

Approximately 19 months after releasing Stage 1 Meaningful Use requirements, yesterday CMS at last proposed the long-awaited rule outlining Stage 2 requirements for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. Established under the HITECH Act of 2009, the program offers financial incentives to eligible providers (as well as levies financial penalties for non-adopters) who show “meaningful use” of EHR technologies in their practice. Thursday’s proposal marks the second of three stages in which CMS intends to outline an increasing threshold that providers are required to meet in order to receive the incentive payments..... [More]

Against the suggestion of the AHIMA, it looks like CMS will in fact revisit the ever pressing issue of ICD-10 implementation. The second look into the matter comes two weeks after the AMA confronted Congress with the stresses its members were experiencing in complying with the October 2013 deadline. And while this author apologizes for his erroneous prediction posted yesterday, the best practices for physicians struggling to meet the deadline still remains preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.... [More]

With the October 2013 implementation deadline steadily approaching, providers have undoubtedly felt the increased strain of ICD-10 compliance. This point was recently underscored when CMS announced that it would delay enforcement of the newly required 5010 standard, the technical precursor of ICD-10 implementation, for an additional three months to accommodate those scrambling to incorporate the new technology. In light of this and other developments, at the end of January the AMA sent House Speaker John Boehner an open letter asking Congress to stop the federally mandated ICD-10 implementation date.... [More]

If the never-ending saga of Medicare reimbursement rate cuts and 5010 compliance issues weren’t enough for providers last year, yet another wrinkle was tacked on in the end in the form of future HIPAA audits. As mandated in the HITECH Act of 2009 (the same law that sparked government subsidies for EHR adoption), HHS is now required to conduct periodic audits to ensure that covered entities and their business associates comply with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules and Breach Notification Standards.... [More]