The TECHNOLOGY e-NEWSLETTER is published monthly in support of the healthcare industry's efforts to communicate the latest technology-related initiatives and events to keep us all informed.
Subscribers total over 2,500.
In this issue:
1. Monthly HIPAA Compliance Tip: CMS Requirements for a HIPAA Security Audit
2. Cisco Case Study: Rehabilitation Hospital Improves Clinical Efficiency and Patient Care
3. TANDBERG Case Study: Videoconferencing Technology Helps the Arizona Telemedicine Program Deliver Health Care and Education Services Statewide
4. When Changing Your Computer Systems or Hardware, Plan for the Worst
5. Day in the Life of a Patient Seminar – 5/20/08, Iowa City
6. Free Wireless Assessment from Burwood Group
7. Health Forum Summit - July 24-26; San Diego
8. HCCA Audit and Compliance Committee Conference
. Monthly HIPAA Compliance Tip: CMS Requirements for a HIPAA Security Audit
Brought to you by: Ali Pabrai, CISSP, CSCS, HIPAA Academy
In 2008, CMS is initiating a sincere audit effort to audit for HIPAA Security compliance. It has been reported that CMS will begin audits by reviewing 10 to 20 hospitals in 2008 for compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule. Is your organization ready for a HIPAA Security audit? Your organization will need to be very prepared to manage all activities including communication and development of critical documentation to help you address CMS audit requirements.
One of the first line items defined by CMS if a HIPAA Security audit were to be conducted at your hospital would be interviews with key members of the executive team including possibly the President and others.
Authored by HIPAA expert Pabrai, learn about who CMS may interview in your organization, as well as a sample of what documents CMS would investigate as part of the audit, in this up-to-date executive brief on CMS Requirements for a HIPAA Security Audit available exclusively from ecfirst.
The audit process can consume valuable time and resources of key professionals and management in your organization. As you are aware, HIPAA has very specific requirements that must be met. For example, the HIPAA Security Rule’s Risk Analysis implementation specification is a requirement that all covered entities must meet. This requires organizations’ to conduct an accurate and thorough assessment of the potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information (EPHI) held by the entity. Your organization must clearly identify key gaps – both compliance and security – and demonstrate remediation action to close and lock gaps. In short, it is best to get started and achieve complete compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule on a continual basis.
Contact technologysolutions@aha.org for your copy of the executive brief PDF on CMS Requirements for HIPAA Security Audit.
2. Cisco Case Study Rehabilitation Hospital Improves Clinical Efficiency and Patient Care
For caregivers at Sheltering Arms, the workspace can be anywhere—the patient room, the gym area, or near the heated therapeutic pool. Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Hospital, a network of nine inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation facilities, implemented a Cisco Unified Wireless Network in order to give their clinicians the mobility and flexibility needed to increase response times, enhance patient care, and improve productivity. The wireless network securely supports the new clinical documentation system, dramatically reducing reliance on paper records while ensuring compliance with HIPAA. The new wireless nurse paging system eliminates the noise of overhead pagers resulting in a more peaceful healing environment. Patients are happier and clinicians are more productive.
For a copy of the complete Cisco case study, please mail technologysolutions@aha.org
3. TANDBERG Case Study: Videoconferencing Technology Helps the Arizona Telemedicine Program Deliver Health Care and Education Services Statewide
The Arizona Telemedicine Program relies on TANDBERG® videoconferencing equipment to broadcast continuing medical education and deliver health care to underserved areas throughout the state.
Challenge
In 1996, Arizona legislators were faced with inequitable delivery of medical care among the state’s rural communities, its prison populations and its numerous tribal nations. To address this issue, as well as concerns about rising health care costs, the state legislature approved funding to establish pilot projects demonstrating the efficacy of telemedicine in delivering better health care to Arizona’s medically underserved areas. As a result, the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center created the Arizona Telemedicine Program (ATP).
For a complete copy of the TANDBERG case study, email technologysolutions@aha.org
4. When Changing Your Computer Systems or Hardware, Plan for the Worst!
Every hospital understands the importance of being well prepared for a disaster. Fires, floods, earthquakes, auto accidents, and acts of violence or terrorism are all scenarios that most hospitals consider in their disaster response planning. This same proactive planning approach should carry over to your IT department – where “disasters” may occur due to less extreme circumstances… like pushing the wrong key on a keyboard.
A computer system failure, server crash or other widespread breakdown in hospital technology can have potentially severe consequences if it is not corrected quickly. One of the more common times for a technology disaster is during a major change in equipment, software or systems. With so many factors involved - hardware, software, compatibility, timing, data, procedures, security protocols, and of course the well-meaning but imperfect human – the risk for major errors is much higher than normal. These errors or failures can lead to loss of access to key computer systems and potentially permanent loss of important data.
5. Day in the Life of a Patient Seminar
The dynamics of today’s healthcare market require innovative technology solutions at the point of care that drive efficiency, improve patient safety and enhance quality of care. This seminar follows a patient through a day within a healthcare setting to examine how to best deliver point of care information technology solutions that fundamentally improve the patient’s experience.
Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 7:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Sheraton Iowa City, 210 South Dubuque Street, Iowa City, IA
Who should attend?
- Senior clinical and IT leaders considering bedside applications like CPOE, bedside charting or med dispensing and e-prescribing
- Those interested in adding connective medical devices to hospital infrastructure to facilitate patient monitoring and integrating with EMR
- Those considering enhancing nurse call and emergency communications to improve efficiencies and quality of care
For more information and to register, visit www.burwood.com/events
6. Free Wireless Assessment from Burwood Group
Healthcare organizations reap dramatic benefits when they effectively deploy wireless solutions based on a comprehensive technology strategy that aligns the organizational needs, technology solutions, deployment plans and operational framework.
As a benefit for Burwood Group will offer in-depth wireless network and IT capability assessments for hospitals and healthcare offices. These assessments will help healthcare facilities gauge strengths and weaknesses of their current wireless technology strategies, benchmarked against best practices of peer organizations. Burwood Group will analyze these strategies and provide recommendations for improvements.
For more information or to schedule an assessment, please email technologysolutions@aha.org
7. Health Forum July 24-26; San Diego
Join 1,500 health care executives as they explore the most promising advances in health care quality, safety and performance improvement with particular emphasis on the leader’s role and responsibilities. The Leadership Summit highlights the most creative thinking and strategic approaches for organizational success. Experienced practitioners come to the Summit in search of solutions and new insights and leave reinvigorated, inspired and ready to move their organizations ahead. Join us at this annual conference where innovators and pioneers are recognized, new concepts are introduced and attendees reconnect with friends and colleagues.
For more information and to register, click here.
8. HCCA Audit and Compliance Committee Conference
This conference is designed for board members and audit committee members of not-for-profit healthcare organizations who serve on an organization’s audit and/or compliance committee. Compliance officers may attend with their board member. CEO, CFO, and other senior officers are welcome to attend.
Date: October 27- 29, 2008
Location: Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale, FL
For more information, visit www.hcca-info.org or Download the brochure (PDF)
