LaHIE Policy and Procedures

Establishing information sharing policies are among the most fundamental and critical decisions to be made for any effort to exchange or share health information, whether being pursued inside or outside of government. Coming to an agreement on workable policies requires broad, objective involvement in order to get appropriate and relevant feedback and secure early buy-in as well as ongoing support for the initiative from various constituents and the public. Public trust will occur through both sound policies and an inclusive process, which also includes having consumers at the decision-making table. Since the Quality Forum’s foundation is to have stakeholders’ input and involvement in all of its initiatives, the LaHIE policies were created and will be continuously reviewed and revised by various stakeholders throughout the state involved in LaHIE and health care legal and policy initiatives.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) information regarding Privacy and Security Framework Requirements and Guidance for the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) information regarding the HIPAA Privacy Rule and Electronic Health Information Exchange in a Networked Environment in conjunction with The Nationwide Privacy and Security Framework for Electronic Exchange of Individually Identifiable Health Information (the Privacy and Security Framework) and the Markle Foundation’s Connecting for Health Common Framework were utilized as reference material in the development of these policies This guidance illustrated how HIPAA-covered entities may utilize the Privacy Rule's established baseline of privacy protections and individual rights with respect to individually identifiable health information to elicit greater consumer confidence, trust and participation in electronic health information exchange.

LaHIE and the Quality Forum, with stakeholder involvement, will review and update the Policy Manual at least annually to comply with changes in the law, including relevant standards and implementation requirements of HIPAA and the State of Louisiana.

Introduction: LaHIE Policy and Procedures.

Access to LaHIE in Accordance with HIPAA Privacy Rule

Accountability Principle in the Privacy and Security Framework

Authorized Users Information and Types

Compliance with Privacy and Security Laws and Protocol

Confidentiality and Security of Protected Health Information

Correction Policy

Data Breach Notification and Investigation

Enterprise Master Patient/Person Index Maintenance

HIE External Evaluation

Individual Access to PHI

Individual Choice for Sharing Information in LaHIE