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Health Information Highlights in the 21st Century Cures Act
Posted on March 09, 2017BriefsThe 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 34) was signed into law on December 13, 2016. The Act includes provisions for funding the National Institutes of Health (NIH), allocates money for state grants to address opioid abuse and addiction, creates new pathways for prescription drug approval through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and more. The Act also expands the federal government’s involvement in health information exchange and health information technology. To read summaries of those provisions relevant to health information that may...0 attachments
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Health Information Ownership: Legal Theories and Policy Implications
Posted on February 22, 2017BriefsHealth Information and the Law contributors Lara Cartwright-Smith, Elizabeth Gray, and Jane Hyatt Thorpe published Health Information Ownership: Legal Theories and Policy Implications in the Winter 2016 issue of The Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law (Vanderbilt University School of Law). The article explores the characteristics of health information and the ownership of health information that make it subject to federal and state laws. To read the article, please see the PDF below or access the full...0 attachments
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Myth Buster: Every provider and payer provides patient records electronically through Blue Button.
Posted on April 18, 2016Myth BustersMYTH: Every provider and payer provides patient records electronically through Blue Button. FACT: Though Blue Button’s reach is growing, not all health care entities currently use it. Blue Button was originally created by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to improve veterans’ access to their medical records. Since then, it has expanded to multiple other organizations including providers, laboratories, and payers. Although Blue Button’s popularity is growing, it is not the sole source of...0 attachments
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Fast Facts: What is Blue Button?
Posted on April 18, 2016Fast FactsThe Blue Button Initiative was created within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a way to improve veterans’ access to their medical records. Blue Button allows consumers to request information from health care providers, health insurance companies, laboratories, and drugstores. Information that is accessible electronically includes lists of current medications, allergies, medical treatment information, lab test results, and health insurance claims information. To learn more...0 attachments
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Medical Record Retention Required of Health Care Providers: 50 State Comparison
Posted on January 27, 2016MapsThis comparative map shows medical record retention requirements applicable to health care providers in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. State law governs the length of time that providers must maintain medical records, and this map categorizes states by the minimum length of time providers must retain records. Some states have different time limits applicable to certain types of providers and/or certain patients. These narrower requirements are identified by the categories "Record retention is dependent on the type of provider"...0 attachments
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Who Owns Medical Records: 50 State Comparison
Posted on August 20, 2015MapsThis map and table show laws that confer ownership of a medical record to a health care provider, hospital, or patient. We did not include laws that only apply to specific providers other than physicians (such as chiropractors and optometrists) or facilities other than hospitals (such as ambulatory surgery centers, birth centers, abortion clinics, nursing homes, prisons, and schools). Note that there may be court decisions regarding record ownership that apply to providers in a particular state under common law even where there is...0 attachments
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Myth Buster: Antitrust waivers protect anyone participating in an Accountable Care Organization
Posted on October 21, 2015Myth BustersMYTH: Antitrust waivers protect anyone participating in an Accountable care Organization. FACT: Only ACOs that fall within the federal government's "safety zone" are eligible for the protection of an antitrust waiver. An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is a delivery-system reform born out of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that encourages hospitals and other Medicare providers to form integrated health care delivery systems to care and become accountable for a specific fee-for-service Medicare population....0 attachments
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Fast Facts: What are antitrust waivers for Medicare's Shared Savings Program?
Posted on October 21, 2015Fast FactsThe Medicare Shared Savings Program was created as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (health reform legislation) and established a new type of care delivery and payment model known as an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). Designed to improve quality and reduce costs in the Medicare fee-for-service program, ACOs encourage physicians, hospitals and other health care providers to become accountable for a patient population through integrated health care delivery systems. To learn how the Federal Trade...0 attachments
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Myth Buster: Patients own their health information and medical records
Posted on August 27, 2015Myth BustersMYTH: Patients own their health information and medical records. FACT: The person or organization holding the information, such as a physician or hospital, generally owns the information. Patients who disclose sensitive information about their health history and personal information such as their social security number may continue to think of that information as “theirs” even if they give it to a provider for the purpose of receiving healthcare services. In fact, once a patient discloses information...0 attachments
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Fast Facts: Who owns health information?
Posted on August 27, 2015Fast FactsOwnership of health information depends on a variety of factors, including the source, custody, and form of the information and legal rights, such as rights created by contracts or under state law. In the case of medical records, healthcare providers like physicians and hospitals usually own the medical records in their custody, which represent part of the business records of their organization or practice. To learn more about the ownership of medical records and understand the difference between ownership and the right to access records...0 attachments
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Support for Health Information & the Law was provided by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Support for Health Information & the Law was provided by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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