Health Information Technology (IT)

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a key priority for ophthalmic practices to ensure patient and practice data is kept safe and secure. To assist ophthalmic practices in understanding cybersecurity, the ASCRS ASOA Health Information and Technology (HIT) Committee developed many resources to help practices protect data.

Ascrs asoa REsources

ASCRS ASOA Guide: How to Protect Your Practice from Cybersecurity Threats

Glossary of Common Cybersecurity Terminology for Ophthalmic Practices

Cybersecurity FAQs

HIPAA Resources

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) makes it easier for people to keep health insurance and protects the confidentiality and security of healthcare information. Title II of HIPAA requires the establishment of national standards for electronic healthcare transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans and employers, and contains the HIPAA privacy and security provisions.

The HIPAA Privacy Rule regulates the use and disclosure of protected health information by "covered entities" and their business associates and gives patients rights with respect to that information. The Security Rule provides safeguards for covered entities and their business associates to use to assure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information. Covered entities are health plans, health care clearinghouses and health care providers who electronically transmit any health information in connection with transactions for which the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has adopted standards.

HHS, CMS and ONC Resources

HIPAA Administrative Simplification Statute and Rules

HIPAA Audit Program

Understanding Health Information Privacy

HIPAA General Information

Privacy and Security Standards

Are you a Covered Entity?

Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information

Security Risk Assessment Toolkit

Security Risk Analysis Myths

Integrating Privacy and Security Into your Practice

EHR Reporting Program

ASCRS ASOA submitted comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in response to a request for information (RFI) regarding a new EHR Reporting Program. The 21st Century Cures Act requires ONC to develop an EHR Reporting Program that will evaluate and rate EHR systems to provide information to physicians and practices as they make decisions about which system to use. ONC sought input from stakeholders with the RFI as it begins developing the program. In response to the RFI, the ASCRS•ASOA Health IT Committee developed several recommendations to ONC that would assist ophthalmic practices as they evaluate EHR systems. Among the recommendations are that ONC should evaluate how well various EHR systems exchange health information, especially data that is not required as part of the system’s certification such as ophthalmic data. In addition, we reminded ONC that many ophthalmic patients are elderly and may have impaired vision, so the program should evaluate how user-friendly the patient communication tools are. Finally, we recommended ONC evaluate an EHR system’s ability to interface with qualified clinical data registries, such as the IRIS Registry, that are widely used by ophthalmic practices