American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Solutions

New "How To" document

Organization's are struggling to understand the impact of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA on their compliance programs.  N-Tegrity Solutions Group has partnered with The Clayton Group to develop guidance on interpreting the regulatory language as well as pointing out specific changes that will be required in HIPAA Privacy and Security policies and procedures. 

Central to the adoption of an electronic health record in the provider space that will meet the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) standards is understanding "Meaningful Use" and what makes up a "Certified" software application/record.  It will be critical for providers to be able to produce updated Privacy and Security policies and procedures.  Without this material, the Provider or Health Plan will not be eligible for any type of incentive funding being made available through Stimulus funds. 

For all organizations affected by the regulatory language of the HITECH Act, there are provisions for heightened audit activity.  This, along with the increased penalties that may be assessed to organizations, means that all covered entities and business associate's (even those organizations treated as a business associate) should heed the call to make sure that policies and procedures have been updated and the workforce trained on the revisions.

Select the following links to review a Table of Contents for the document or a sample of some of the documentation for handling Business Associate requirements.   If you would like to know more about ordering this product, please visit The Clayton Group  partner site at www.theclaytongroup.org.  You may also contact an N-Tegrity Solutions Group sales representative in our Midwest operation (816.463.4736) or our East Coast operation (610.558.3332).

Product Highlights:

In-depth Implementation Notes:  Provides a simple and concise review of each section found within Subtitle D of the HITECH Act within ARRA .

New / Revised Policies and Procedures:  Multiple HIPAA Privacy and Security policies and procedures were changed because of the regulatory language in ARRA.  Working with The Clayton Group templates for Privacy and Security, revision have been made to the original template set or additional policies have been constructed as appropriate.

Handy Risk Assessment worksheets:  As a part of any Security program, an accurate assessment must be made of the potential risks associated with data exposure.  The tools provided are based on NIST guidelines and have been used multiple times as part of the JumpStart^sm methodology program developed by N-Tegrity Solutions Group.

Expanded Business Associate Documents:  HITECH introduced some sweeping changes for Business Associates.  You will find an updated Business Associate Decision Tree; a sample Business Associate Agreement with security language and a special in depth document that examines and defines all of the Privacy and Security requirements of the actual business associate agreement. 

Breach Tracking Log and Notification Letter:  The breach interim final has been released and enforcement of unprotected/unencrypted loss of data goes into effect at the end of September 2009.  Specific requirements for breach are covered along with forms/letters to be used as a part of your compliance program.

High-Level ARRA Work Plan:  What needs to be done and how are you going to track it?  An operational planning document is included that can be used as the foundation for project planning purposes.