THIS IS DUE TOMORROW MORNING! NO NEGOTIATION! AFTER THE DISCUSSION, YOU MUST RESPOND TO TWO CLASSMATES, TO WHICH I HAVE ATTACHED THE FILE. IDENTIFY ONE STRENGTH AND ONE WEAKNESS EACH TO EACH CLASSMATES REASONING.

1ST CLASSMATE REPLY BY DAVID STEWART

There are thirty-four states and one territory that participate in the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC). The HISPC includes “assessing variations in privacy and security-related organization-level business policies and state laws that affect health information exchange, identifying and proposing solutions which preserving the privacy and security requirements of applicable federal and state laws, and developing detailed plans to implement the proposed solutions” (Nelson & Staggers, 2014, p. 313). These regulations are set forth by the government to protect the privacy of patients.

    As healthcare moves more towards technology, one of the biggest fears has been how to protect patient’s health records. It’s not only the patient's records that are on the line, it’s the hospital’s administrative records and the physician's records on patients that have to be kept safe. This has been a daunting task for the government and for healthcare all across the country. Privacy and security are important to patients in regards to how their health records are being used, accessed, and disclosed on the Internet. All health information should be, “stored, transmitted, viewed, and disposed of in a manner that balances the need to protect individual privacy with the need to allow health information to be shared with authorized participants for improved quality of care” (Virginia eHealth Institute, 2010, p. 30).

    I live in the state of Virginia, and my state participates in the HISPC program. Along with another program called Adoption of Standard Policies Collaborative (ASPC). The ASPC was created to carry on the HISPC’s policies and regulations. When the first phase of HISPC was created, a major challenge was identified regarding the electronic exchange of health information mistrust due to variations in privacy and security policies. So to create a chain of trust in regards to HIE’s, a legal agreements had to be drawn up nationwide that protected patient’s health records. This agreement, allowed the ASPC to organize and secure policies in health information organizations (HIOs) that participated in the HIE process (Daniel & Posnack, 2009, p. 5).

    Virginia is a commonwealth state, that contributes to the ASPC by having an upper hand to draw form two functional RHIOs, one operating a hybrid HIO environment and one operating using a federated HIO. Since my state operates under the hybrid HIO, patients have the option of storing their records in the RHIO’s Document Repository or they can keep their own records, which means they will have to be their own firewall (Daniel & Posnack, 2009, p. 7). 

    There are many members in the eHealth collaboration to make sure that a patient’s records are kept safe in the interest of the patients. The many members are hospitals, community health centers, integrated healthcare systems, governmental agencies, health plans and insurance agencies, payer organizations, health care purchaser organizations, non-voting members, healthcare professional associations, consumers, and public interest members. In order to keep patient’s records safe the state of Virginia committed to the following, “converting paper records to EHR’s, participating in evaluation and community data-sharing activities, and upholding data-security and privacy standards” (Goroll, Simon, Tripathi, Ascenzo, & Bates, 2009, p. 135). The most important role a healthcare facility can play is to protect its patients is by protecting their health records.  

2nd CLASSMATE REPLY BY Kimberly Schneck

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology reports in their Health Information Exchange Strategic and Operational Plan for the state of Florida “Florida’s approach to state-level health information exchange through the Florida Health Information Exchange (Florida HIE) will be a network of networks. The Florida HIE will serve as a hub for the sharing of records between providers participating in local HIE entities.  The initial entities to be connected will include local provider networks operating HIEs and meeting technical requirements of the Florida HIE.  These facilities will serve as anchor institutions for the development of health information exchange because most of them have secure and robust IT systems capable of supporting the connectivity to the statewide network.  Their award amount is $20,738,532 with additional funds for other related ONC funding to the amount of $39,026,462 (https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/plan-summary-fl.pdf). 

They go on to report that for “geographic areas and providers that lack coverage through the data sources previously noted, or otherwise elect not to participate, the Agency will offer stakeholders Direct Secure Messaging services leveraging the NwHIN standards and specifications for point to point connections of participating providers including routing/authentication. The Florida HIE will also offer an authoritative provider directory based on the State’s licensure database in combination with the National Provider Identifier (NPI) records for participating Florida providers. The Agency’s HIE vendor will provide a secure webmail service for physicians and other providers to send or access medical records sent by other providers. Providers will be able to send or receive a secure message without requiring an EHR.   Providers can download the documents received and may incorporate structured or other documents into an EHR. The HIE vendor will implement security certificates as the Health Information Service Provider (HISP).  This approach will support the Agency’s mission to provide access to some form of health information exchange to help providers achieve Meaningful Use of electronic health records.” (https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/plan-summary-fl.pdf). 

For example, in 2009, the state of Florida has made statutory changes to our e-prescribing system that was added to the Florida HIE.  The statues are as follows: “Regulation requires the approval of the patient (or patient’s agent) for any direct transmission of prescriptions, including electronic data transmission.  Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 64B1627.1003 (2009). The statute prohibits electronic prescribing software from using any means including advertising, instant messaging, and pop-up ads, to influence or attempt to influence, through economic incentives or otherwise, the prescribing decision of a prescribing practitioner at the point of care. Fla. Stat. Ann. § 456.43(2) (2009).” FL Pharmacy law permits e-prescribing; however, does not define the term. Fla. Stat. Ann. § 456.42 (2009) ( https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/appa-1.1.pdf).  Physicians must consult the new database Electronic-Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substance Evaluation Program or e-FORCSE for records for a specific patient prior to prescribing to reduce the incidence of drug abuse or medication diversion (http://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/e-forcse/). 

In Genesis 11:6 it states “Behold, the people are one, and they have all one language; and this they being to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they imagined to do.” The passage is describing the tower of Babel.  The people were all of one language and they sought to build with their technology a tower to reach heaven.  But God saw this and confounded them and so they dispersed to be with each of their own kind that could speak the same language.  I have often thought of this story while studying for this class I have often wondered if we would ever reach a point as a whole where we have used our technology to the point of one standardized taxonomy and database that was the “be all—end all” of computer technology what would God think? 

References

Retrieved August 1, 2018, from https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/plan-summary-fl.pdf

Retrieved August 1, 2018, from www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/appa-1.1.pdf

E-FORCSE Home Page | Florida Department of Health. (n.d.). Retrieved August 1, 2018, from http://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/e-forcse/

THIS IS DUE TOMORROW MORNING! NO NEGOTIATION! AFTER THE DISCUSSION, YOU MUST RESPOND TO TWO CLASSMATES, TO WHICH I HAVE ATTACHED THE FILE. IDENTIFY ONE STRENGTH AND ONE WEAKNESS EACH TO EACH CLASSMATES REASONING. SUBMIT CLASSMATES RESPONSE ON A SEPARATE FILE FROM THE DISCUSSION