HITPC: Non-targeted query recommendations forthcoming

Non-targeted patient record query recommendations are forthcoming and may be unveiled at the next Health IT Policy Committee (HITPC) on Aug. 7, Privacy & Security Tiger Team Co-chair Devon McGraw, director of the Health Privacy Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said at the July 9 HITPC meeting.

At its April meeting, McGraw and the team had agreed on several recommendations for targeted query scenarios and since then had re-examined non-targeted queries for stricter policies at the request of the committee. The following month, the team had opted not to add additional policies but went back to the drawing board after the policy committee stressed that additional policies for non-targeted queries are critical for patient privacy.

On July 9, McGraw said the Tiger Team met virtually with eight health information exchange organizations to learn about their experiences and practices and gather input as to whether non-targeted queries warrant additional policies. Specifically, they spoke with leaders at the Nebraska Health Information Initiative, HealtheWay, Rochester Regional Health Information Organization, Indiana Health Information Exchange, Rhode Island Quality Institute’s CurrentCare, Surescripts, ClinicalConnect and SMRTNet.

“It was terrific to get eight different organizations. There is a lot of interest in the area,” said McGraw.

McGraw did not rehash the discussion, noting that the Tiger Team has yet to go over the content of the meeting as a team.

However, “We hope to report recommendations in August,” she said.