HHS Quality Summit (QS) Fact Sheet

10. July 2019 EHR, EMR, Health, HIPAA 0
The Department of Health and Human Services is committed to ensuring that American patients receive the highest value healthcare, which Secretary Azar has identified as a key priority for HHS, by taking actionable steps to improve price and quality transparency under President Trump’s leadership President Trump’s Executive Order on transparency directs federal agencies to improve ...

HHS Announces Quality Summit to Streamline and Improve Quality Programs across Government

10. July 2019 EHR, EMR, Health, HIPAA 0
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan announced the formation of the Quality Summit (QS), which will bring together key industry stakeholders and government leaders to discuss how current quality programs administered by HHS can be further evaluated, adapted, and ultimately streamlined to deliver a value-based care model ...

HHS Secretary Statement on Congress’s Restoration of Funding to Support Humanitarian Care for Children

02. July 2019 EHR, EMR, Health, HIPAA 0
Upon President Trump’s signing of a supplemental emergency appropriations bill to support the humanitarian work HHS does to care for unaccompanied alien children, HHS Secretary Alex Azar released the following statement: “We are pleased that Congress finally responded, in a bipartisan way, to President Trump’s call for more funding to address the huge influx of ...

Trump Administration Awards $1 Million in Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Grants to Counties to Strengthen Efforts to End the HIV Epidemic in the United States

28. June 2019 EHR, EMR, Health, HIPAA 0
Today, the Trump Administration, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded approximately $1 million in Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grants to 10 metropolitan areas that are Part A jurisdictions to provide technical assistance to enhance efforts to end the HIV epidemic. This funding through HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau supports a comprehensive system of HIV ...

OCR Provides Critical Technical Assistance to Ensure that Individuals with Disabilities Have Full and Equal Access to Health Care Services

28. June 2019 EHR, EMR, Health, HIPAA 0
On March 26, 2019, OCR’s Eastern and Caribbean Region received a call from an advocate for the deaf community, alleging that the Caribbean Medical Center (CMC), a 36-bed, short term, acute care and surgical facility in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, failed to provide appropriate sign language interpretive services to a deaf individual who sought an evaluation ...

New Frequently Asked Questions on HIPAA and Health Plans Support Care Coordination and Continuity of Care

27. June 2019 EHR, EMR, Health, HIPAA 0
Today, the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a frequently asked question (FAQ) document that clarifies how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule permits health plans to share protected health information (PHI) in a manner that furthers the HHS Secretary’s goal of promoting ...

New Law Strengthens U.S. Efforts to Prepare, Respond and Recover from Disasters

26. June 2019 EHR, EMR, Health, HIPAA 0
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 (PAHPAIA), signed into law last night by the president, strengthens U.S. programs that are critical to protecting Americans from modern, evolving health security threats. Congress passed the first Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act in 2006, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, to drive better ...

HHS Secretary Statement on Ninth Circuit’s Rejection of Nationwide Block on New Family Planning Policy

21. June 2019 EHR, EMR, Health, HIPAA 0
On Thursday, HHS Secretary Alex Azar released the following statement on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision to stay a nationwide injunction against the implementation of an updated rule regarding Title X family planning program: “We are pleased that the Ninth Circuit has recognized that there is no need to ...