AHIMA 2009: The Health Information Bill of Rights
At a news conference yesterday, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) unveiled its Health Information Bill of Rights, a set of seven principles designed to protect and promote patient access to personal health information.
Craig May, AHIMA public relations, called the Bill of Rights "an extraordinary stride in patient protections." He plugged the provisions at Sunday's Student Academy, mostly saying the association planned to introduce a list that was unprecedented in the industry, but kept the details under wraps. Well, here they are (abbreviated for your quick perusal, of course):
1. The right to access your health information free of charge.
2. The right to access your health information during the course of treatment.
3. The right to expect accurate and complete health information.
4. The right to know who provides, accesses and updates your health information.
5. The right to hold health care professionals and others accountable for violations of privacy and security laws, policies and procedures.
6. The right to expect equivalent privacy and security protections, regardless of location.
7. The right to seek legal recourse for violations.
Wait, you say, that sounds a lot like HIPAA, and isn't the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) already beefing up privacy and security? Reporters thought the same thing. But according to AHIMA, the Bill of Rights are not meant to replace HIPAA but rather serve as "guideposts" to ensure privacy and security protections remain part of health care discussions. "HIPAA was a good start, ARRA was another nice step, but we still feel more could be done," said Wendy Mangin, AHIMA past president and chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee, which crafted the provisions.
The Bill of Rights went through a significant "vetting process" to validate the meaning and applicability of each measure. According to Linda Kloss, CEO of AHIMA, upholding privacy and security while expanding consumer access to information will become even more critical in the digital age. Patients and providers across the nation will need a "common understanding" of these rights to make health information exchange not only possible, but successful.
For more information on AHIMA's Health Information Bill of Rights, watch our video interview with Mangin and Kloss, which will be posted Oct. 21 as part of our comprehensive post-conference coverage. In the meantime, leave your comments about the provisions below. The seven principles seem pretty straightforward, but according to Sandy Fuller, chief operating officer of AHIMA, a few of them could turn out to be quite controversial. What are your thoughts? Do you see any loopholes or potential hang-ups?