E.H.R. PROPOSALS

HS415 U8

PART 1: HIPAA TRAINING OUTLINE

When it comes to patient’s information, it’s best to know the importance of keeping their information private and safe. It’s aspoken and unspoken trust between the patient and the staff working here at Shalom Memorial. In this outline, I will highlight 3 pointers that the class and hands-on training you will be participating in.

o Confidentiality

▪ Acknowledgement of personal information that will beobtained, accessed, learned and developed regarding the patient and the business as well.

▪ Acknowledgement of general information regarding the company’s systems, plans, strategies, training process and techniques and other ideas during my employment and even during a separation from the company

▪ Acknowledgement to not disclose, remove or divulge or give away pertinent in anyway regarding the company or any patient

o Privacy

▪ Maintain the privacy of medical PHI

▪ Acknowledgement & signature of the company’s legal duties and privacy practices with respect of the PHI notice

▪ Acknowledgement and signature of the terms of the Notice currently in effect for Shalom Memorial and that you will abide by them Notice

o Security

▪ Make sure that you keep and wear your security badgeat all times and don’t allow anyone to use it and never tailgate for other known employees

▪ Keep private and secure all passwords for all systems you have access to and never share them with anyone

▪ Do NOT make any copies of any type of information from the PC or laptop given to use for job

PART 2: ROI/HIPAA

When it comes to PHI, the release of information has to be authorized. So here is a table to explain what’s needed by who, in order to release any type of information: If the patient or others can verify these 5 things: Full name, full address, DOB, current phone number, last 4 digits of the SSN for the patient, Legal documents, current POA and consent forms on files. If these docs and those items are verified and we have patient consent then we can release info.

Who	Get Patient Consent	Release General Info	Release Medical Info
Patient	No	Yes	Yes
Patient Family	Yes	Yes	No
Other Medical Facilities	Yes	Yes	Yes
Insurance Companies	Yes	Yes	No
POA/ARs	No	Yes	Yes
Lawyers/Legal Teams	Yes	Yes	Yes

PART 3: Release for Information

When it comes to RFI, there has to be specifics that our E.H.R. system has to able to conduct. Here is a table of what is needed from each person to ROI.

Type of Release	What
Patient	The patient has a right to access health care information that pertains to the patient’s examination or treatment of a medical, psychiatric or mental condition.
Deceased Patient	The surviving spouse or parents of a deceased patient, or a person the patient designates in writing as a representative, may authorize release of the patient’s records.
Prison Inmates	Permission from the Federal Government is required for release of any health care records of an inmate of a federal prison.
Attorney/Legal Request	A county attorney is allowed access to health care records
Worker’s Comp Request	A request for copies of health care records must be in writing.
Medical Examiner	Release of health care records is allowed to the medical examiner / coroner
HIV/AIDS Patients	Unless specifically asked for and authorized by the patient, HIV and AIDS records should not be released.

PART 4: E.H.R. Vendors

When selecting an E.H.R. vendor, you have to be sure who will be the best for the job as well as cost efficient, so here are 3 E.H.R. systems that we narrowed down as prospects:

E.H.R. Vendors	Clinical/Admin	Annual Revenue	Strengths
Epic	Billings, Patient Portals, Labs, Pharmacy, Ambulatory, Behavioral Health	$1.50 Billion	Compatible Operating System(s):Windows, iOS, Mac, Linux Supported Devices:Desktop, Mobile, Tablet, iPad, TouchscreensCertifications:Meaningful Use Certified, ONC-ATCB, CCHITHIPAA Compliance:Yes
Cerner	Billings, Patient Portals, Labs, Pharmacy, Ambulatory, Behavioral Health, Consulting Services, IT Mgmt.	$2.67 Billion	Compatible Operating System(s):Windows, iOS, Mac, LinuxSupported Devices:Desktop, Mobile, Tablet, iPad, TouchscreensCertifications:Meaningful Use Certified, ONC-ATCB, CCHITHIPAA Compliance:Yes
Athena	Billings, Patient Portals, Labs, Pharmacy, Ambulatory, Behavioral Health, Consulting Services, IT Mgmt.	$422.3 Million	Compatible Operating System(s):Windows, iOS, Mac, LinuxSupported Devices:Desktop, Mobile, Tablet, iPad, TouchscreensCertifications:Meaningful Use Certified, ONC-ATCB, CCHITHIPAA Compliance:Yes

The weakness with Epic E.H.R. is that there are no mobile apps for it and it’s not public yet for investors. It’s only CCHIT certified.

The weakness with Cerner isn’t a lot but it’s also only CCHIT certified, while Athena is CCHIT, LLC & Surescripts certified.

PART 5: E.H.R. Contract points

Now that you’ve picked your E.H.R. vendor, now it’s time to negotiate your contract. Here is a list items that needs to be considered inside your contract negotiation proposal.

• Ensure that the final contract includes the vendor’s response to the request for proposal or request for information as well as any applicable warrantees

• Pay particular attention to ownership of data, requirements for additional training and support, fee-based upgrades, co-op purchasing, and options for purchasing hardware outright and negotiating only the price of the software.

• Clearly identify price and payment terms, along with the right to withhold payments in the event of a vendor breach of contract.

• Identify required experience for vendor staff involved in product configuration, implementation, training, and/or ongoing support.

• Adopt:

o Assess

o Plan

o Select

• Utilize:

o Implement

o Effective Use

• Exchange:

o Readiness

o Interoperate

PART 6: E.H.R. Contract Negotiation Terms

When negotiating contracts of any type, it can either be a gruesome, tiring time or a simple task. With E.H.R. systems, the task can be the same. But there are 3 factors that should be standard in the contract negotiation. You should never accept a non-negotiable contract unless they provide EVERYTHING necessary to solidify the buy from the very beginning. The first thing is functionality. The E.H.R system must provide all the needed functions for your medical facility to flow effortlessly. They system should be able to take payments by cash, credit/debit cards, or by e-check. It should be able to track payment and hold medical information obtained. When searching for a patient, their information should pop up and fast. The system should be able to change/update the patient’s information as well, among other things. Also, it should be able to safe and secured & HIPAA compliant. The next factor would be asking if there’s a maximum size the system will allow. Meaning, can’t the vendor provide an E.H.R. system that will handle a large call center or a small private practice? Then another factor is cost. Money can make or break a contract. If the price of over budget, then ask what comes with that price. Does it have a lifetime warranty or a monthly fee included? Is the installation fee included or maintenance fee included? What is the cost for training test runs of the system? There are others but those are the main points for me. If there was a problem with the system, a report regarding glitches and errors should be address without restrictions. Some vendors might put a gag order in the contract to keep negative reviews from being made. That may be standard. I would put in y contract that a free test run of the E.H.R. of a large medical facility will have to be done before the sale is made.

Reference:

HIPAA Privacy Rule and Public Health Guidance from CDC and the …

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/m2e411a1.htm

Indian Health Service — HIPAA

http://www.ihs.gov/AdminMngrResources/HIPAA/index.cfm

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Pub. L. No. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936 (1996).

CMC ROI Policies.docx (29.13 KB)

EHR Vendors – CureMD

www.curemd.com/top-ehr-vendors/

Cerner.com

Epic.com

Athenahealth.com