Thursday, May 13, 2004

An Assessment of HIPAA Security Preparedness: Most Health Care Organizations Remain Noncompliant
A report (in Adobe Acrobat format) by URAC available at the Open Minds web site - " Until recently, patients and their physicians stored paper medical records under lock and key in their medical offices. In today’s innovative health care environment, ensuring the security of personal health information (PHI) is much more challenging. For example, PHI is regularly inserted into claims and supporting reports that are sent electronically across state lines and/or international boundaries to various stakeholders to coordinate treatment plans and pay for coverage. Although the move to more electronic data interchange (EDI) holds great promise for increasing the efficiency, efficacy, and safety of health care, the electronic transfer of PHI raises security and privacy concerns for individual patients and their treating providers. As a result, the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and the promulgation of implementing privacy and security regulations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) signify the federal government’s intent to ensure PHI confidentiality in today’s complex business environment..."  
  

District of Columbia: Status of Reforms to the District’s Mental Health System
A GAO report (in Adobe Acrobat format) available at the Open Minds web site - "Since 1975, the District of Columbia has operated its mental health system under a series of court orders aimed at developing a community-based system of care for District residents with mental illnesses. Placed in receivership from 1997 to 2002, the District regained full control of its mental health system in 2002 but has been ordered to implement a courtapproved plan for developing and implementing a community-based mental health system. Additionally, the District must comply with exit criteria, which must be met in order to end the lawsuit. The court expects that it will take the District 3 to 5 years to implement the courtordered plan and begin measuring performance against the exit criteria, with year 1 beginning in July 2001. GAO was asked to report on the current status of the District’s efforts to develop and implement (1) a mental health department with the authority to oversee and deliver services, (2) a comprehensive enrollment and billing system that accesses available funds for federal programs such as Medicaid, (3) a consumer-centered approach to services, and (4) methods to measure the District’s performance as required by the court’s exit criteria."  
  

Cover the Uninsured Week
The web site of a project sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - " There are nearly 44 million Americans living without health coverage – including 8.5 million children. In 2002, the number of people without health coverage increased by more than 2 million, the largest one-year increase in a decade. Unfortunately, the problem won’t get better soon. Rising health care costs continue to undermine the ability of individuals, businesses and state governments to purchase health care coverage. Reversing this disturbing trend, elevating this issue on the national and local agendas, educating Americans about the problem and providing immediate assistance to the uninsured and small business owners are the goals of Cover the Uninsured Week 2004..." See also Health Care Proposals Vary Widely in the Hartford Courant and Healthcare Issues Attract Plenty of Talk but Little Action in the Los Angeles Times.  
  

DiVeronica shows up at union forum (New York)
Oneida Dispatch story - "Madison County Mental Health employees and their union representatives say they are addressing the possibility of privatization of the department before county supervisors decide to take action. More than 50 people, mainly mental health employees, attended an informational meeting Wednesday at Oneida High School. Supervisors have been looking at the possibility of privatizing the department after a 2001 report found the department was annually losing money and worker performance between full and part-time employees was unequal. The report stated the department was losing between $500,000 and $750,000 annually. County officials say the department has greatly improved and last year cost the county just $8,445. Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman Rocco DiVeronica, who initially said he would not attend the forum, did show up with Oneida's supervisors Don Behr and Jim Rafte, said the look at privatizing is a long process and public input would come before any final decision by the board..."  
  

APA Poll: Most Americans Have Sought Mental Health Treatment But Cost, Insurance Still Barriers
APA press release at Yahoo - "Nearly half of Americans have had someone in their household seek mental health treatment, but most still perceive cost and lack of insurance coverage as barriers according to national poll results released today by the American Psychological Association (APA). The poll also shows that stigma about seeking mental health treatment is increasingly less of a barrier to getting treatment. Nearly half (48%) of American households have had someone see a mental health professional and nine out of 10 Americans say they are likely to consult or recommend a mental health professional if they or a family member are experiencing a problem..."