President Obama signs HITECH Act as part of the Stimulus Package
Acknowledging the need for physicians to engage in electronic health information technology,
President Obama signed into law Feb. 17 the Health Information Technology for Economic and
Health (HITECH) Act. The act is a key component in the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act, popularly known as the Stimulus package.
The Stimulus package includes more than $20 billion to promote the electronic exchange and use
of health information technology by healthcare providers. Funding for health IT includes:
- $2 billion for the Office of the National Coordinator.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services will appoint the national coordinator,
whose responsibilities will include endorsing standards and certification criteria and
coordinating health IT policy and programs. - $17.2 billion in incentives through Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to assist
providers in adopting electronic health records (EHR).
These funds will establish a program to facilitate and expand electronic movement and
use of health information among organizations according to nationally recognized
standards. Awards will go to states and state-designated entities. In addition, ONC may
award competitive grants to eligible states to establish programs for loans to healthcare
providers.
An eligible physician will receive incentive payments as outlined in the legislation, for the
first five years (2011-2015), for demonstrating meaningful use of EHR technology.
Meaningful use includes: demonstrating use of certified EHR technology, such as eprescribing;
demonstrating electronic exchange of health information to improve the
quality of health care (i.e., care coordination); and submitting information on specified
clinical quality measures and other measures. If an eligible professional does not
demonstrate meaningful use by 2015, his/her reimbursement payments under Medicare
will begin to be reduced, with no incentive payment after 2016. - $4.7 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administrations’
Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.
- $2.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance learning,
Telemedicine and Broadband Program.
- $1.5 billion for construction, renovation and equipment for health centers through
the Health Resources and Services Administration.
- $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research within the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality, National Institutes of Health and Department of Health and
Human Services.
- $85 million for health IT, including telehealth services, within the Indian Health
Service.
- $500 million for the Social Security Administration.
- $50 million for information technology within the Veterans Benefits Administration.
In addition, the HITECH Act specifically addresses issues pertaining to the privacy and
security of protected health information. These include:
- Security Breach Notification -
requiring a federal security breach notification for health
information that is not encrypted or other made indecipherable. An individual will be notified
if there is an unauthorized disclosure or use of their health information.
- New HIPAA Business Associates -
ensuring that new entities not identified when
HIPAA was written are subject to the same privacy and security rules as providers and health
insurers.
- Accounting of Disclosures -
giving patients the right to request an accounting of
disclosures of their health information made through an electronic record.
- Sale/Marketing of Protected Health Information (PHI) -
providing new restrictions on
marketing using PHI.
- Access -
providing an individual the right to have access to certain information about
them in electronic format.
- Enforcement - modifying the distribution of civil monetary penalties and providing for
enforcement of HIPAA by States Attorneys General and local law enforcement.
Sources:Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS),
www.himss.org
Library of Congress, HR 1, www.thomas.gov
More Stimulus Resources