HITPC endorses two measures for LTPAC and BH EHR certification

The Health IT Policy Committee (HITPC) endorsed voluntary certification criteria governing transitions of care and privacy and security for long-term and post-acute care and behavioral health providers during its meeting on May 6.  

Leading up to the vote, Certification & Adoption Workgroup co-chair Larry Wolf, CIO of Kindred Healthcare, said in conversations with stakeholders, they supported a voluntary program given that it aligns with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s (ONC) Meaningful Use requirements and promotes interoperability and exchange of health information using common standards.

“There has been a lot of emphasis on interoperability to enable good care as patients transition from one care setting to another,” said Wolf.

For transitions of care, the HITPC endorsed criteria that supports the ability to receive, display, incorporate, create and transmit summary care records with a common dataset in accordance with the Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (CCDA) standard and using ONC-specified transport specifications.

As part of the transitions of care standards, the workgroup recommended supporting the inclusion of emerging HL7 transitions of care and care planning standards when standards become mature. However, the committee did not endorse that aspect of the criteria, with some members calling it too “ambiguous.” Instead, the committee supported the general activity of tracking all standards over time to assess their maturity as part of the endorsement.

For privacy and security, the HITPC endorsed privacy and security criteria that mirror existing ONC-certified privacy and security requirements that govern: authentication, access control and authorization; auditable events and tamper-resistance; audit reports; amendments; automatic log-off; emergency access; end-user device encryption; integrity; and optional accounting of disclosures.

Wolf said educational outreach efforts must dovetail these criteria so long-term and post-acute care and behavioral health providers understand that “just because you have the technology, doesn’t mean you are HIPAA-compliant. You need to have policies and procedures in place.”

The approval of the first two criteria is part of the workgroup’s larger effort to formally approve several voluntary certification recommendations, which is scheduled for June 10. The workgroup is holding a listening session on voluntary certification for long-term and post-acute care and behavioral health providers on May 13.