GAO Report Finds HHS Lagging In Defining Process For Health IT Privacy

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice;  Public Health
Article Date: 19 Sep 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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A Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday found that HHS has made some progress in developing a coordinated health information technology system but has not defined a process for prioritizing and assessing privacy issues related to a nationwide network of electronic health records, CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 9/18). According to the report's summary, HHS has taken steps to address the key privacy issues and challenges associated with the electronic medical exchange, but the agency's initiatives have "fallen short" of the GAO's January 2007 recommendations.

HHS' "privacy approach does not include a defined process for assessing and prioritizing the many privacy-related initiatives to ensure that key privacy principles and challenges will be fully and adequately addressed," the summary says, adding, "As a result, stakeholders may lack the overall policies and guidance needed to assist them in their efforts to ensure that privacy protection measures are consistently built into health IT programs and applications. Moreover, the department may miss an opportunity to establish the high degree of public confidence and trust needed to ensure the success of a nationwide health information network" (GAO report summary, 9/17).

The report follows a bill introduced Monday by House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) that aims to move forward with creating a national system of EHRs. Leaders in the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee also have introduced similar measures (CongressDaily, 9/18).

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