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Just days before the September 23, 2013 enforcement date for the
new HITECH Act Omnibus rules, the Department of Health and Human
Services' Office for Civil Rights has published several new
guidance tools and documents. On September 13, HHS published
a number of model Notices of Privacy Practices (NPPs), in various
formats, for health plans and providers. The notices are in
plain language, and can be tailored to a particular entity.
HHS recommends that the NPPs be published in color and booklet
form, but the models come in a variety of formats. HHS also
published summary documents that can be used for layered
notices.
On September 19, the health industry received new guidance
regarding decedents, student immunizations and refill reminders, as
well as an announcement that there would be an enforcement delay
for CLIA labs relating to the required changes to a lab's
NPP. The guidance on refill reminders indicates that a
business associate can receive payments to assist a covered entity
in carrying out a refill reminder or medication adherence program,
as long as the business associate is paid no more than fair market
value of the business associate's services. The payments may be
made directly to the business associate by the third party whose
product is being described. Communications for which a
covered entity receives remuneration that do not fall within the
exception require a patient's written authorization.
Here are links to the new guidance materials
- Refill reminders
- NPP enforcement delay for CLIA labs
- New guidance on decedents
- New guidance on student immunizations
- Model Notices of Privacy Practices
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
