HITECH law extends privacy and security

HITECH law extends privacy and security
(April 2009 Issue)

By Phyllis Hanlon

Health information technology inched closer to providing added privacy and security to patients' electronic psychotherapy records when Congress passed the Health Information Technology for Economic & Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in February.

This legislation provides a framework within which providers will work towards a national network to improve patient care in a cost-effective way. According to Douglas Walter, legislative and regulatory counsel in the government relations department of the American Psychological Association's practice organization, this law ties in closely to the standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Walter says, "Since HIPAA was implemented, a major concern has been patient protection." This act ensures that only the minimum amount of information necessary to fulfill a request will be shared. He adds that a patient consent study regarding inclusion in an electronic medical records system will be conducted to evaluate how it will affect patient protection. This reflects concerns of patients who may not seek care if records will be readily available to all healthcare providers.

HITECH also segments patient records, which "creates an added layer of protection for sensitive information," says Walter. "A provider dials in with his ID to the network but if he is not the right kind of provider, he won't get in." For example, a podiatrist would not have access to mental health information.

Walter points out that implementing HITECH is strictly voluntary. "Most practitioners are solo. You have to get software and hardware to become part of the network and have recognizable records on the network. It's expensive to do this," he says. "Also, in some rural areas, you can't even get dial-up and not all providers have computers."

Unfortunately, psychologists were not deemed eligible for incentive payments as part of the law. "But there are other grants and funding in the HITECH Act we qualify for," says Walter. "As this continues, we hope non-physician providers will have access to more funding. The [HHS] secretary needs to pay attention to implementation."

Walter emphasizes that as market forces drive the trend toward electronic systems, it will become vital for psychologists to participate in the network.

Walter hails passage of HITECH as a "big victory for psychologists and patients." He notes that while funding is critical to implementation, psychologists have advocated for patient protections as well. "We need to get privacy and security, too. These are the cornerstones of the legislation. Otherwise, you won't have provider/patient trust," he says.