“HIM and health IT are finding that the scope and responsibilities of individual job functions are increasingly crossing department domains,” write the authors of the practice brief “HIM and Health IT,” published in this month’s issue. They note a “universal need for alignment between the two disciplines to ensure that both business processes and technology are in place to advance successfully toward a fully functional [electronic health record].”

The brief explores that need for collaboration through three domains: confidentiality and security, data use and maintenance, and terminology asset management. Seven Web-only extras offer tools to help with that alignment. (more…)

The Federal Trade Commission has pushed back the compliance deadline for its identity theft “red flag” rules. The original deadline was less than two weeks away. The new deadline is May 1, 2009.

The red flag rules require businesses that extend credit to their customers to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs. Healthcare organizations fall under the rule, say attorneys. (more…)

Medical identity theft is a fast-growing and lucrative form of identity theft. The Journal’s July practice brief offers guidance on how HIM professionals and others can work together to prevent, investigate, and mitigate the damage that such theft causes.

The brief also offers a downloadable checklist for individuals who have been the victims of medical identity theft. The checklist includes steps consumers can take in response to a theft, including contact information for appropriate agencies they can notify.

An Arkansas woman who pled guilty to disclosing a patient’s health information was the first in her state to be convicted under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Andrea Smith, a 25-year-old woman from Trumann, AR, admitted to wrongfully disclosing individually identifiable health information for personal gain, according to a statement from Jane W. Duke, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. (more…)