Health Information Management & Technology

About Health Information Management & Technology

California hospitals are committed to making health information easy to share so that patients and providers can make better informed decisions. This coordination leads to better health outcomes for patients and more efficient health care for all. CHA produces the California Health Information Privacy Manual to help hospitals ensure compliance with myriad state and federal laws.

Change Healthcare Cyberattack Raises Privacy Breach Implications 

What’s happening: CHA has analyzed public information to help hospitals better understand privacy implications stemming from the Change Healthcare cyberattack in late February.  

What else to know: The cyberattack raises the question of whether affected hospitals must report a breach to patients or to government officials under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or state breach reporting laws.  

CMS Issues Enforcement Discretion Guidance for Prior Authorization Standards

What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued enforcement discretion guidance for entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) that are implementing certain prior authorization application programming interfaces (APIs). 

What else to know: This is in response to finalized policies to advance interoperability and electronic prior authorization processes.  

CHA Shares Updates on Change Healthcare Cyberattack

What’s happening: Hospitals and health systems operations continue to be impacted by the cyberattack on Change Healthcare. 

What else to know: CHA supports AHA’s recommendations urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take steps to mitigate the impact on providers experiencing issues with claims processing and pharmacy operations.  

CMS Updates Hospital Guidance for Texting Patient Info

What’s happening: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated guidance for hospitals and critical access hospitals related to texting patient information.  

What else to know: Hospitals should use a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant secure texting platform that complies with Medicare and Medicaid conditions of participation.