HHS Issues Clarifications to Health IT Rules
On October 13, 2010, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published an interim final rule with request for comment to remove the implementation specifications related to public health surveillance from regulations established by the Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule. Comments will be accepted until November 12, 2010. In addition, an October 13 CMS notice announces maintenance changes to some of the HIPAA electronic data transaction standards made by the Designated Standard Maintenance Organizations. The maintenance changes are non-substantive changes to correct minor errors, such as typographical errors, or to provide clarifications of the standards adopted in CMS’s January 16, 2009 Electronic Transaction Standards rule. Finally, the ONC has published a notice on the HIT Standards Committee Schedule for the Assessment of HIT Policy Committee Recommendations. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) requires the HIT Standards Committee to develop a schedule for the assessment of policy recommendations developed by the HIT Policy Committee and publish it in the Federal Register. The notice fulfills this requirement and updates the schedule published May 26, 2009.
