HIT Standards Committee endorses privacy and security standards
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On September 15, 2009, the HIT Standards Committee endorsed a set of privacy and security standards for electronic health record systems.
These standards will be recommended to Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, as a basis for establishing the privacy and security criteria for, inter alia, "certified EHR technology" as defined under the HITECH Act. Eligible healthcare providers must meet the criteria for "meaningful use" of "certified EHR technology" in order to qualify for significant incentives available under the HITECH Act.
The committee’s Privacy and Security Workgroup included access control, authentication, authorization and transmission of health data among the requirements that electronic health record systems must include by 2011 in order to meet the definition of "certified EHR technology." Specifically for 2011, the Standards Committee approved the Workgroup's recommendation to require certified products to provide the capabilities necessary to support the HIPAA and ARRA security and privacy requirements and best practices for “meaningful use.” The endorsed privacy and security standards will become more rigorous in 2013 and 2015.
You can find the spreadsheet of endorsed privacy and security standards here.
You can also view the presentation from the Workgroup here.
"Federal panel okays EHR security, privacy standards," Government Health IT (September 15, 2009).
