LHIMA | P&S: Building A Privacy Program

Overview:

The LHIMA Privacy and Security Webinar Series is designed to answer the latest privacy and security questions in the HIM industry. The series is sponsored by MRO, and Privacy expert Rita Bowen, MA, RHIA, CHPS, CHPC, SSGB, Vice President of Privacy, Compliance and HIM Policy for MRO will be the presenter for our five pre-recorded webinars and will host the final live webinar to answer your follow up questions. The first webinar is now available (1.5 CEU) and the next two webinars (2 CEUs) will be available by December 15, 2017. The final two webinars will be available by January 12, 2018, and our final roundtable webinar will be held on January 31, 2018.

OCR Audit Updates and Patient Access Regulations (1.5 CEUs – Privacy and Security)

This session will provide OCR updates regarding focus for audits, outcomes of resolution agreements and building best practices around those items. The session will also provide patient access directions and details regarding patient directed requests, which are anticipated to continue as patient-centered healthcare initiatives are underway. Such initiatives enable patients/families to take more responsibility for their healthcare and require patients to access, utilize and share their health information.

Telehealth/Virtual/New Consumer (1 CEU – Privacy and Security)

Telemedicine continues to gain traction in the healthcare industry. This session will cover key statistics about telemedicine such as:

• The global telemedicine market is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.3 percent between 2014 and 2020, based on a Nathaniel Lacktman, Esq. Healthcare Partner, Foley & Lardner report.
• 29 states and the District of Columbia currently uphold laws mandating that health plans cover telemedicine services.
• The telemedicine services field is positioned to explode by 2018 with an anticipated 7 million patient users, up from 350,000 patient users in 2013, according to an IHS Technology report.

Additionally, this session will cover tips for including telemedicine in your Information Governance program.

Building A Privacy Program (1 CEU – Privacy and Security)

This session will assist you through the plethora of healthcare privacy-related laws and regulations, to assist you creating or further developing your privacy program. It is not unusual for the work of a privacy program team to include extensive outreach, education and even beyond that, evangelism. An effective and successful privacy program is built on knowledge of the relevant laws and how to comply with them, but also on proactive strategies, persuasion, political savvy, adaptability and a passion to get an exciting everyone on board for adaption of policy and process changes that are required.

Information Security (1 CEU – Privacy and Security)

Data and Protected Health Information (PHI) security is more important than ever. In fact, the FBI has informed the healthcare industry to continue to expect both domestic and international hacker attacks. The FBI has warned the healthcare industry that their systems were found to be laxer in comparison with other sectors. Healthcare data breaches have affected over 255 million patient records, and that number continues to rise. It’s noteworthy to point out that data breaches cost the industry $5.6 billion each year and could put a small to medium sized medical practice out of business. This session will provide best practices to prepare you and your organization for such events.

Problems on the Horizon (.5 CEU – Privacy and Security)

This session will offer a brief overview of compliance problems on the horizon, with a special focus on connected healthcare devices. With the many benefits of connected devices, come privacy and security risks, especially as hackers and cyber criminals have more entry points. As the new OCR Director Roger Severino has stated, “I’ve gotten up to speed on HIPAA, and as the threats evolve, we have to evolve in how we approach it – and we have to be smart about who we target. At most I will say the big, juicy case is going to be my priority and the methods for us finding it – stay tuned.”

Webinar Series Roundtable Discussion (1 CEU – Privacy and Security)

This live session will offer a platform for LHIMA members to address questions about the content delivered in the 5-part webinar series that covered the topics of OCR audits, patient access, telehealth, building a privacy program, information security and problems on the horizon. Privacy expert Rita Bowen, MA, RHIA, CHPS, CHPC, SSGB, Vice President of Privacy, Compliance and HIM Policy for MRO, will be live on the line to answer all your questions about the previously covered topics, in addition to any other hot topics submitted for discussion.

Date Published:

December 15, 2017

CEU:

1.0 – Privacy and Security

Speaker:

Rita Bowen, MA, RHIA, CHPS, CHPS, SSGN

Vice President of Privacy, Compliance and HIM Policy
MRO Corporation

In her role as Vice President of Privacy, Compliance and HIM Policy for MRO, Bowen serves as the company’s Privacy and Compliance Officer (PCO), oversees the company’s compliance with HIPAA, and ensures new and existing client HIM policies and procedures are to code. She has more than 40 years of experience in Health Information Management (HIM), holding a variety of HIM director and consulting roles. Prior to joining MRO, she was Senior Vice President and Privacy Officer for HealthPort, Inc., now known as CIOX Health. Bowen is an active member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), having served as its President and Board Chair, as a member of the Board of Directors, and of the Council on Certification. Additionally, Bowen was chair for the AHIMA Foundation. She has been honored with AHIMA’s Triumph Award in the mentor category; she is also the recipient of the Distinguished Member Award from the Tennessee Health Information Management Association (THIMA). Bowen is an established author and speaker on HIM topics and has taught HIM studies at Chattanooga State and the University of Tennessee Memphis. Bowen holds a Bachelor of Medical Science degree with a focus in medical record administration and a Master’s degree in Health Information/ Informatics Management Technology.