NCVHS Accomplishments in 2001

Through the Subcommittee on Privacy and Confidentiality, conducted public hearings on the implementation of the final rule for the “Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information”. Following the hearings, Submitted two letters to the Secretary, one addressing issues of consent requirements and the disclosure and use of the minimum amount of information reasonably necessary and a second on research provisions. Further recommendations are planned on the rule’s marketing provisions.

Submitted letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS, formerly HCFA) commenting on the need to maintain collection of data on race and ethnicity for Medicaid managed care services, in response to the Medicaid Managed Care Notice of Proposed Rule-Making. Previously had submitted a letter to HCFA commending the Administration for supporting the continuation of the collection of data on race and ethnicity in the SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), and emphasizing the value of the collection of data on language of SCHIP participants.

Published a compilation of reports in the “50th Anniversary Symposium,” consisting of a summary of the Symposium, and the history and accomplishments of the Committee over its fifty years, along with interim reports developed by the Workgroups on National Health Information Infrastructure, and Health Statistics for the 21st Century. The reports: “Toward a National Health Information Infrastructure,” and “Shaping a Vision for 21st Century Health Statistics,” will be finalized in 2001-2002.

Held hearings on specifying electronic standards for patient medical record information. Further recommendations on this topic are expected in early 2002.

Submitted the fourth annual report to Congress on Implementation of the Administrative Simplification Provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as required by the HIPAA legislation.

Submitted to the Department the report “Classifying and Reporting Functional Status,” a culmination of almost 2 years of hearings and consultations with clinicians, researchers and other data users. The report recognizes the significant value of functional status information and identifies the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as the only viable candidate for a code set for classifying functional status in clinical and administrative records.

Submitted letter recommending that the Secretary accept all of the changes to the transactions standards proposed by the Designated Standards Maintenance Organizations (DSMOs) and commended the organizations for their expeditious efforts in achieving consensus on these issues; the letter recommended that the final rule implementing the changes be published no later than January 31, 2002.

Submitted letter to Secretary on industry readiness to implement HIPAA requirements, recommending that the Secretary take a leadership role in providing for an orderly transition and implementation of the HIPAA standards. The Committee urged the Secretary to issue the remaining rules and stated that the Committee had not heard a proposal for delaying compliance that it could support, noting that a delay that is not coupled with a strategy to productively utilize the additional time is unlikely to contribute to a successful implementation.

Collaborating with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality about serving in an advisory capacity on the new National Quality Report and report on racial and ethnic health disparities.

Through the Subcommittee on Populations, submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget re: Provisional Guidance on the Implementation of the 1997 Standards for Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. In addition to discussing aspects of the OMB Guidance, the Committee noted the need for greater direction and leadership on the implications of the use of the tabulation and bridge methods.

Received testimony from the DSMOs on use of National Drug Codes (NDC) on institutional and professional claims. Submitted letter to Secretary, indicating concerns raised by a number of organizations on the requirement to report national drug codes in the HIPAA transactions and recommending that the requirement be retracted for transactions other than retail pharmacy. The Committee also expressed the need for further evaluation before a standard code set for drugs and biologics can be implemented. The Department subsequently indicated its intention to pursue the NCVHS recommendations by publishing a notice of proposed rule making.

Received a briefing from CDC staff about the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System, NEDSS, which, when completed, will electronically integrate and link a wide variety of surveillance activities to facilitate more accurate and timely reporting of diseases.

Received briefings from NCHS on statistical activities at the World Health Organization, the major differences and enhancements between the clinical modification of ICD-9 (ICD-9-CM) and the clinical modification for ICD-10 (ICD-10-CM), and on an evaluation of the ability of the National Health Interview Survey to collect, process, analyze and report a select set of sentinel health indicators in a timely fashion.