Hipaa Update - Industry Trend or Event - Brief Article

Health Management Technology, May, 1999

Regional Workshops to Address Medical Record Privacy Crisis Scheduled by Computer-based Patient Record Institute

"Privacy, Security, & Confidentiality of Medical Records: Complying With Sweeping New HIPAA Requirements" is the theme of regional workshops staged by the Computer-based Patient Record Institute (CPRI). The workshops are the cooperative effort of a number of healthcare concerns, including the Friends of the National Library of Medicine, major medical schools, trade associations, and health information services like IBM Global Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, Healtheon, Oceania Inc., and Bell Atlantic.

The task of making personal electronic medical records both portable and accessible, while at the same time protecting patient's privacy, may well be the most daunting healthcare technology challenge of 1999-supplanting the better known Year 2000 (Y2K) issue.

Bracing for change, industry leaders and academic institutions are gearing up educational efforts to help healthcare professionals adopt internal policies, procedures, and practices designed to better safeguard sensitive patient care information.

According to national experts, pressure on Congress to address growing concerns about the confidentiality and security of electronic medical records will result in comprehensive legislation, impacting nearly every aspect of healthcare delivery from hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes to biomedical research organizations and device manufacturers.