Bill Braithwaite: Beef Up HITECH Rules

The final version of regulations to carry out the HITECH Act must include far more details on privacy and security to ensure widespread adoption of electronic health records, says William R. Braithwaite, M.D., Ph.D. In an interview, Braithwaite, widely known as "Dr. HIPAA" for his work in drafting the HIPAA administrative simplification provisions, says the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive program under HITECH will fail if clinicians and patients alike don't trust the security of the systems. He says: Regulators should add much more specific guidelines for security to the "meaningful use" and EHR software certification rules. The final version of the rules should enable hospitals and physicians to qualify for earning EHR incentives in phase one by achieving less demanding criteria. Healthcare organizations must immediately gear up their privacy protection efforts in tandem with their efforts to phase in EHRs. Braithwaite is now chief medical officer for Anakam Inc., a security technology company. He previously spent seven years as a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services. He was one of the authors of the administrative simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and a major contributor to the subsequent regulations setting federal standards. Braithwaite also formerly served as chief clinical officer for the eHealth Initiative and its foundation. He staffed the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee to help produce their June 2004 Report, "Revolutionizing Health Care Through Information Technology." He also previously served as national director of HIPAA advisory services at PricewaterhouseCoopers.