Pictured: Diana Lindo, MM, RHIT, CCS, Wylecia Wiggs Harris, Ph.D., CAE, Chief Executive Officer, AHIMA, Bibi Von Malder, RHIT and Laura Caravetta, MPH, RHIA at AHIMA Hill Day, March 2018
2021 Advocacy Priorities
- Revisiting the AHIMA Virtual Advocacy Summit: On this episode of HI Pitch, Lauren Riplinger, vice president of policy and government affairs at AHIMA, and Susan Clark, chair of the AHIMA Advocacy and Policy Council, recap the AHIMA Virtual Advocacy Summit that took place in May. Listen to the podcast Check out the other great podcast too at HI Pitch The AHIMA Podcast
- AHIMA is supporting the community through the 21st Century Cures Act in a multitude of ways:
- Partnering with other professional organizations by posting consolidated sources along with our guidance in the Information Blocking Resource Center.
- Advocating for health information through the development of policy statements which has been a priority this year with the major shifts in healthcare delivery. The policy statements on privacy (Health Information held by HIPAA Non-covered Entities) and individual access (Individual Access to Health Information) address the 21st century cure in support on consumer access and protection with APIs.
- Producing guidance for our members through Journal of AHIMA articles on information blocking. also provide guidance
- Electronic Health Information Task Force with AHIMA, AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association) and EHRA (Electronic Health Record Association) convened approximately 9 months ago to develop industry guidance related to the definition of electronic health information (EHI). Stakeholder vetting is underway, and a status update has been provided to the Office of National Coordinator for Health IT and the HHS Office for Civil Rights as well as other stakeholder organizations.
ACT NOW: AHIMA Patient Policy Pledge Show you agree to support, encourage, and educate your fellow health information professionals about the importance of adopting and implementing the naming policy. Take the Naming Policy Pledge!
ACT NOW: Repeal Section 510 in Labor-HHS appropriations bill and support patient identification Contact your Members of Congress and urge them to Repeal Section 510 from the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill and Support Patient Identification.
State Advocacy Leaders February 2021 Meeting – Federal Advocacy Update
State Advocacy Thought Leadership February 2021
State Advocacy Leaders January 2021 Meeting – Federal Advocacy Update
State Advocacy Leaders PDF 1.27.21
State Advocacy Leaders TL Discussion January 2021 Final
In support of our vision of a world where trusted information transforms health and healthcare by connecting people, systems, and ideas, we’re advocating for legislation and regulations in the following areas.
Access
- Individual Access: Enhance individuals’ electronic, timely, and seamless access to their health information.
- Consumer Engagement: Empower individuals to make better decisions about their own health by using trusted data from traditional and emerging data sources.
- Affordability: Ensure patients have access to timely and accurate information about the cost of healthcare services to make informed care decisions, including information about their expected out-of-pocket costs.
- Privacy: Address privacy and security gaps of HIPAA non-covered entities that collect, access, use, disclose, and maintain electronic health information.
- Cybersecurity and Information Security: Enhance and improve the sharing of cyber threats, risks, and cyber hygiene practices in real-time.
- Behavioral health: Encourage policies that further integrate and coordinate behavioral health information with physical health information.
- Healthcare Reform: Promote the continuity of accurate, timely, and trusted health information regardless of health insurance coverage.
Connection
- Patient Identification: Enhance accurate patient identification to improve patient safety, interoperability, and the appropriate use of workforce resources.
- Integrating Clinical and Administrative Data: Enhance and influence efforts to better integrate clinical and administrative data to improve the patient experience, reduce clinician burden, and potentially reduce costs.
- Interoperability: Champion modern data standards (including application programming interfaces) and related infrastructure to support technical, functional, and semantic interoperability across healthcare.
- Public Health: Advocate for the use of accurate and timely data for public health responses and initiatives while protecting the confidentiality, privacy, and security of an individual’s health information.
- Social Determinants of Health: Promote the collection, access, sharing, and use of social determinants of health (SDoH) to enrich clinical decision making and improve health outcomes, public health, and health inequities in ways that are culturally respectful.
Integrity
- Data Quality: Advance the completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of health data by influencing the development and maintenance of national and international coding standards.
- Data Integrity: Influence and advance policies that promote the accuracy, consistency, and trustworthiness of health information regardless of its form, origin or application.
- Health Equity: Advocate for the collection, use, and sharing of accurate, unbiased, complete, and standardized health information as an integral part of efforts to reduce and eliminate health disparities and inequities.
- Value-Based Care: Promote new payment and delivery models that leverage accurate, timely, and complete health information—as well as technology—in new and innovative ways.
- Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring Technologies: Expand access to care through the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring technologies, while ensuring the continuity of accurate, timely, and trusted health information and also protecting patient confidentiality, privacy and security.
Hot topics in Advocacy 2021
- Section 510 in the Labor-HHS Appropriations
- Compulsory Process Summary for Subpeonas IUDDA
- Patient ID Now Coalition Disappointed Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill Does Not Address the Vital Issue of Patient Misidentification – November 10, 2020
- SAMHSA 42 CFR Part 2 Revised Rule – July 13, 2020
- Cures Act
- Cures Act – Final Rule – Information Blocking Exceptions
- Bill S.2408 – An Act Relative to Uniform HIPAA Standards
- *Summary of Protecting Jessica Grubb’s Legacy Act Included in the CARES Act Section 3221 – March 25, 2020
Resources
- MaHIMA Webinars and other Free Webinar offerings
- Foley Hoag Health Information Privacy and Practice Blog
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics
- Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
- HHS Office for Civil Rights
- National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics
MaHIMA Legal Publications
MHA Medical Record Copying Fee 2020, released September 24, 2020
MaHIMA Medicolegal Guide to Health Record Information
PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY BELOW!
Book and USB: $ 180.00
USB Only: $130.00
Publication date, 2016
Our Medico-Legal Guide to Health Record Information provides references to the laws and legal issues pertinent to various Health Care settings.
- Chapters covering topics such as: Record Content and Retention, Reporting Requirements, Legal Process, Acute Care Records, Mental Health Records, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Records, Long -Term Care Records, Ambulatory Service Records, Community Health, Federal and State Identity Regulations & Statutes, Student Health Records, Workers Compensation, Infant Safe Haven Laws, Adoption Records, Pediatric Records, Advanced Care Directives, Resources, Regulation & Statues, and MaHIMA updates, and more.
- Guide offered in hardcopy & electronic format (USB)
- Revision completed December 2016
MaHIMA Medicolegal Guide To Health Record Information Order Form
Upcoming Events
Legislative Advocacy
The Legislative Affairs Committee is comprised of health information management professionals from a variety of health care settings and legal professionals who specialize in health care. The Committee provides advocacy, education and information to the membership. The Legislative Affairs Committee advocates on behalf of the profession. The committee reaches out to elected representatives during annual Beacon Hill Day visits, and by organizing calls, letters and e-mail to elected representatives to advocate on issues of importance to the health information management community. The Committee provides educational opportunities to the membership and delivers timely and informative updates to the membership through e-Alerts, Connect articles, and periodic updates of our Medico-Legal Guide.
If interested please contact:
Director, Legislative Focus and Advocacy
Ann Dooley, RHIA