Becker's Hospital Review

62 CIO / HEALTH IT 7 things to know about HIPAA and disclosure of vaccination status By Jackie Drees M isuse and misconceptions about HIPAA have been circulating in the news, with some false- ly claiming the privacy law prohibits being asked about COVID-19 vaccination status, according to Robert Shmerling, MD. In an Aug. 19 op-ed for Harvard Health Publishing, Dr. Shmerling, senior faculty editor for Harvard Health Publish- ing and an associate medicine professor at Harvard Medical School, shared key facts about HIPAA and said the law is un- related to vaccination disclosures. Seven things to know about HIPAA regarding vaccination status, according to Dr. Shmerling: 1. Some fake mask exemption cards, which are available on- line and intended to let the owner forego wearing a mask for medical reasons, falsely claim that the card's owner is not re- quired to answer any questions about their medical condition. is is not true under HIPAA. 2. HIPAA privacy rules prohibit the release of protected health information, known as PHI, by others without your consent and "they have nothing to do with whether you can or should answer questions about your vaccination status, or any other health issue," Dr. Shmerling wrote. 3. HIPAA defines PHI as health information that is "individu- ally identifiable," meaning it includes details that identify you, such as name, address and birth date; information about phys- ical or mental health conditions you have or have had previ- ously; details on healthcare you've received; and information about payments made for your healthcare services. 4. HIPAA requires that anyone who has access to your PHI, such as healthcare providers, health insurers or medical bill- ing companies, must ensure it is kept confidential, safe from security threats and ensure that employees are trained in han- dling the confidentiality of the information. 5. HIPAA does not prevent anyone from asking you about your vaccination status, and "there's nothing in it that prohib- its businesses, such as restaurants, gyms, or movie theaters, or your employer from asking you for proof of vaccination," Dr. Shmerling wrote. 6. HIPAA privacy rules also do not prevent you from answer- ing questions about whether you've been vaccinated. It is your decision to tell others whether you have been vaccinated. 7. If you decide not to disclose your vaccination information to your employer if it's requested, "you will likely be consid- ered unvaccinated, and that could lead to changes in how or where you work, or even to loss of your job. But again, that's unrelated to HIPAA," Dr. Shmerling wrote. n Ascension's tech business to eliminate 330 more jobs By Jackie Drees A scension Technologies, the IT subsidiary of St. Lou- is-based Ascension, plans to outsource about 330 tech jobs by Nov. 19 following a round of IT layoffs earlier this year, according to a notice filed with the state in September. The outsourcing comes after Ascension Technologies filed a notice in April detailing plans to lay off an estimated 651 remote workers between Aug. 8 and Dec. 10. Four details: 1. Ascension Technologies said it will begin working with a third party to take on the tech support for application and platforms, collaboration and end-user engineering, network and telecom, and field services areas that its current employees oversee. 2. The 330 employees affected by the outsourcing are a pre- dominately remote workforce not based in Missouri, but most of the positions report to a St. Louis-based location, the health system said in the Sept. 13 notice. 3. The position eliminations also will result in "a permanent plant closing," according to the notice. 4. Affected employees can apply for other positions within Ascension Technologies or with the new vendor, and Ascen- sion will provide severance and outplacement services work- ers affected by the plant closing who do not get another job within the company. n Health Choice Network inks $400M Epic EHR deal for 44 health centers By Jackie Drees M iami-based Health Choice Network is partnering with Epic to launch a new integrated EHR system across its healthcare provider network, HCN said Sept. 14. The $400 million EHR investment will move HCN's 44 health centers onto the same EHR system, letting providers share primary care, oral health, behavioral health, specialty care, pharmacy and population health records on a single platform. HCN's care network comprises 44 federally qualified health cen- ters, physician practices and accountable care organizations. HCN will be adopting a "Tailored to Fit" model, which bases software and applications on the goals set by the health cen- ter CEOs to increase quality, productivity, digital health and im- prove care reimbursements. The model aims to remove barriers with EHR adoption, one-time costs and implementation costs, as the 44 HCN organizations will be moving to one EHR. n

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