Health-Record Vendors Led by GE May Gain From U.S. Privacy Rules
General Electric Co. (GE), Siemens AG (SI) and other providers of electronic health-record technology may benefit from a proposed change to U.S. medical privacy regulations announced today.
A change to a rule under the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, would allow patients to request a report from their health-care providers listing who has viewed or accessed their medical information electronically, according to a news release from the Health and Human Services Department.
“We need to protect peoples’ rights so that they know how their health information has been used or disclosed,” Georgina Verdugo, director of the department’s office of civil rights, said in a statement.
The proposal may spur investments in electronic health- record systems and related technology provided by GE and Siemens to make the systems able to generate reports on who has accessed a record, Craig Le Clair, an analyst with Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based technology research firm, said in an interview.
“It’s another requirement that drives investment in the newer systems and technology,” Le Clair said. Hospitals and physicians will be under “more pressure to buy” electronic record systems, he said.
President Barack Obama has advocated electronic health records as a way to lower health-care costs and reduce medical errors. The Obama administration has begun distributing what may eventually total $31.3 billion in incentive payments to encourage hospitals and doctors to go electronic.
Reduced Reimbursements
The federal government plans to reduce Medicare reimbursements to physicians who fail to make the transition by 2015.
GE is reviewing the proposed change and had no immediate comment, spokesman Corey Miller said in an e-mail. Siemens did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cerner Corp. (CERN), Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (MDRX) and closely held Epic Systems Corp. are among the other major providers of electronic health-record systems.
The American Hospital Association also is reviewing the proposed change and had no immediate comment, spokeswoman Marie Watteau said in an e-mail.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Engleman in Washington at eengleman1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Allan Holmes at aholmes25@bloomberg.net
Rate These Stories
Rate this Page