- Missouri Independent Hospitals Seek Strength in Numbers with New Clinically Integrated Network
- An Ambitious Financial Experiment Tried to Support Struggling Rural Hospitals in Pa. For Years. Did It Work?
- Request for Information: Data Intermediaries and Approaches to Strengthen Public Health Data Exchange
- 'Spreading like Wildfire': How One KY County Is Grappling with a National Tick-Borne Scourge
- HRSA Awards Nearly $90 Million to Expand Addiction Treatment and Recovery Services in Rural Communities
- FORHP Awards More Than $6 Million to Strengthen Rural Health Networks
- HRSA Awards Nearly $19 Million to Expand Access to Healthcare Through Telehealth and Innovative Technologies
- First-of-Its-Kind Initiative Aims to Deliver AI to Rural and Critical Access Hospitals and Clinics in North Carolina
- 988 Crisis System Grantee and Partners National Conference
- Paramedics Are Helping Patients Manage Illnesses, Connect with Services and Avoid Calling 911. But These Programs Can Be Tough to Sustain in Rural Areas.
- Kansans in Need of 'Stupidly Expensive' Medical Equipment Are Turning to Loan Closets for Help
- How Libraries Are Bringing Heart-Health Resources to Rural Communities
- A Virtual Lifeline: How Maternal Health RPM Transforms Care
- HHS Awards Nearly $25 Million to Strengthen Small Rural Hospitals and Preserve Access to Care
- HHS Awards More Than $380 Million to Strengthen America's Behavioral Health System on 988 Day
Updated Security Risk Assessment Tool Available to Download
In October 2018, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in collaboration with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), released an updated, downloadable Security Risk Assessment (SRA) tool. This updated SRA tool is easier to use and applies more broadly to the risks of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of health information. The tool is designed to help healthcare providers conduct an SRA as required by the HIPAA Security Rule and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. The tool diagrams HIPAA Security Rule safeguards and provides enhanced functionality to document how your organization implements safeguards to mitigate, or plans to mitigate, identified risks. The new SRA tool is available for Windows computers and laptops. However, the previous iPad version of the SRA tool is still available from the Apple App Store (search under “HHS SRA Tool”). Go to the HealthIT.gov website to download the updated SRA tool.
NEW Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Referral Tool
Pennsylvania residents now have access to the Drug and Alcohol Referral Tool (DART), an online resource to help individuals seeking substance use disorder (SUD) treatment find appropriate, local care. This tool is fully anonymous, user friendly and can be translated into over 100 languages. DART is a centralized hub that will ask a series of questions based on a person’s age, county of residence and veteran status to assess appropriate needs and locate care. The tool will also provide potential resources that consider issues of homelessness, transportation and legal concerns. “Substance use disorders often occur when a person experiences other medical and behavioral health concerns, and they may need additional resources to live a stable, healthy life in recovery,” said Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller. “Connecting people seeking treatment to comprehensive services that can help meet all of their needs from the start is critical as they work towards recovery.”
HHS Releases Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Draft Report
On December 28, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a draft report from the HHS Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force. Section 101 of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA) (P.L. 114-198) authorized the Secretary of HHS, in cooperation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense, to convene the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force.
The Task Force is charged with providing advice and recommendations to relevant federal agencies and the general public for the development of best practices for managing chronic and acute pain and a strategy for disseminating such best practices. The Task Force includes representatives from both federal and non-federal entities who represent diverse disciplines and views.
The Task Force held public meetings May 30 and May 31, 2018, and on September 25 and 26, 2018, voted on a list of proposed updates and recommendations. Those draft recommendations will be published in a draft report in the Federal Register on Monday, Dec. 31, 2018. (It will be available for public view via online public displayTODAY, Dec. 28.) The public will have 90 days to submit comments. Details on submitting comments are outlined on the HHS website and in the Federal Register’s posting. Once the 90-day public comment period concludes, the Task Force will consider comments received and publish a report with final recommendations.