Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC)

Background

Research Triangle Institute International (RTI) is under contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to work with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to implement a national collaborative effort to address privacy and security policy questions affecting interoperable health information exchange.

The office of Governor Gregoire and the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) designated Qualis Health, a nonprofit quality improvement organization, to serve as Washington State’s lead non-governmental agency for this effort.

During the first phase of HISPC, June, 2006-March 2007, RTI's prescriptive process for HISPC contractors included the sequential convening of Working Groups, each tasked to meet a specific goal:

The Variations Working Group assessed organization-level business policies, practices and state laws that affect health information exchange.
The Solutions Working Group identified and proposed practical solutions that protect privacy and security of health information and permit interoperable HIE.
The Implementation Plan Working Group developed plans to implement solutions within the state and, if applicable, at the federal level.

The final HISPC Report for Washington State synthesized the information that these working groups developed.

Current Project

Qualis Health was awarded a contract extension to develop plans to implement the proposals from the first phase of HISPC. Over the next 6-months (From July 1-December 31, 2007), Qualis Health will lead the following activities:

1) Create the “Privacy and Security Technical Advisory Council” (PSTAC) that will advise the state-sponsored Health Information Infrastructure Advisory Board (HIIAB) on privacy and security issues related to health information exchange (HIE) activities. The PSTAC will consist of two subgroups, the Consumer Engagement and Participation (CEP) Subgroup and the Authentication Subgroup.

2) Facilitate the development of a roadmap for consumer engagement and participation in electronic HIE

3) Facilitate identification of user and entity authentication policies and propose incentive plans for providers and consumers to adopt the standards.

For additional information regarding Washington State’s HISPC project, please contact Peggy Evans, Ph.D., HISPC Project Director at Qualis Health, (206) 364-9700 x2069, peggye@qualishealth.org.