HITECH Act Overview

by Brenda Wynn, CMT
(Williamston, NC)

I attended a webinar called “Advocacy Summit Prep: An Overview of the HITECH Act” presented by Greg Doggett, DJ. This presentation brought up some interesting information concerning health information technology (HIT) I thought I needed to share with you.

The HITECH Act is short for “Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act.” This Act became part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the economic stimulus package, which addresses key points of HIT. The HITECH Act is important for several reasons. It contains several changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). It will offer financial incentives for the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs). It will mandate the creation of federal standards for HIT. It will also include potential funding for training people to enter into the MT workforce as well as other aspects of health care documentation.

Under HIPAA, medical transcription service owners (MTSOs) and MTs are considered business associates. HIPAA defines a business associate as a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information (PHI) on behalf of, or provides services to, a covered entity. Covered entities include health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care providers. According to HIPAA, the term “health care clearinghouse” means a public or private entity that processes or facilitates the processing of nonstandard data elements of health information into standard data elements. Because of this, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) considers medical transcription to be an activity that makes an individual or an organization a business associate under HIPAA.

The HITECH Act will present new challenges to business associates including breach notification and new privacy and security obligations. Whenever a business associate discovers a breach of PHI, any relevant covered entity will need to be notified of the breach within 60 days. Business associates will also be required to use the technical, physical, and administrative safeguards of HIPAA’s security rule. President Obama signed this Act into law on February 17, 2009. According to Greg Doggett’s presentation, interim regulations concerning the breach notification requirement must be published within 180 days after the enactment of the HITECH Act and will be effective 30 days after publication. Agreements between covered entities and business associates must include the new privacy and security obligations by February 2010.

As mentioned before, the HITECH Act will include financial incentives to encourage EHR adoption. This means that doctors and hospitals that participate in Medicare and are “meaningful EHR users” will be eligible to receive Medicare incentive payments beginning in 2011 and ending in 2015. Those that are not “meaningful EHR users” will receive reduced Medicare payments starting in 2016. To be a “meaningful EHR user” generally means a provider must adopt a certified EHR system, must demonstrate that it engages in the exchange of health information to promote the quality of care and care coordination, and must be able to report on clinical quality measures as requested by HHS, using the EHR technology. The standards to be issued by HHS will provide further clarification on what a provider must do to be a “meaningful EHR user.”

At the end of Greg Doggett’s presentation, he made an important conclusion. While there is still a long way to go, widespread EHR adoption is here. We as MTs must define and promote the value we bring to EHR adoption to ensure the future success of our profession and industry. A workforce must be created with the knowledge and skills necessary in a healthcare system increasingly using EHRs. That is one of the purposes of going to this year’s Advocacy Summit in June. The OA-AHDI would like to encourage as much participation as possible. If you cannot attend, participate with your state and/or local component or through OA-AHDI in any way possible.