A national system for electronic health records may still be in development, but electronic personal health records (PHRs) are surging into the healthcare environment. Because PHRs foreshadow many aspects of the evolving national electronic health record system, healthcare organizations must think through the consequences of offering and accepting PHRs.

The increasing use of PHRs raises substantial regulatory and legal issues for all healthcare organizations. One fundamental issue will be determining how and when personal health information (PHI) is regulated under HIPAA and other laws. The information in PHRs will look very similar to PHI. That means healthcare organizations will have to determine how they will manage PHRs either within their existing systems or separately.

The compliance risks have broadened substantially for healthcare. If breaches of PHRs occur, healthcare organizations will need compliance plans and practices that can withstand scrutiny when the breaches were caused by patient negligence.

To focus attention on these and other issues and help healthcare deal with the challenges, this 90-minute audio seminar was produced.

Participants will be briefed on a wide range of key issues, including:

• Differing definitions of PHRs and their regulatory implications;
• When PHRs become PHI;
• PHRs and a new world of physician-patient privilege;
• New perspectives on Business Associates requirements;
• New requirements for accounting for PHI disclosures;
• The need for revised HIPAA privacy practice statements;
• A new debate on patient consent; and much more.

This crucial seminar features an outstanding faculty.

Susan McAndrew, Deputy Director for Health Information Privacy. Office for Civil Rights, Department of Health & Human Services.

John Christiansen, Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Committee on Healthcare Privacy, Security and Information Technology; and a member of the technical expert advisory panel for the HHS-funded EHR initiative, Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration, and a principle in Christiansen IT Law.

Dennis Melamed, editor/publisher. Health Information Privacy/Security Alert.

WHO SHOULD LISTEN

• HIPAA Privacy & Security Officers
• HIMS Professionals
• PHR Developers
• EHR & HIT Professionals
• Health Plans
• Healthcare Providers
• Healthcare Marketers
• Business Associates
• Researchers
• Research Administrators
• Healthcare Lawyers and Consultants