The Meaningful Use legislation (ARRA, HITECH Act) included many changes to HIPAA (Click here )

Here are a few key items:

• Privacy & Security – access to all health information data must be controlled — this includes laptops, thumb drives and remote access.

• Major penalties for violators – up to $1.5 million per year for violations involving willful neglect.

• Business Associates – access to health information for patients OR employees of healthcare providers. Business Associates must comply with HIPAA regulations and are subject to the same penalties.  NOTE: a CPA firm may be considered a Business Associate.

HIPAA has gotten more stringent, encompasses more areas, and significantly increases the $ penalties.

New Federal incentives that have created a lot of $$ opportunities for healthcare providers and other companies. Unfortunately, they have also created a lot of confusion for CPAs!

These incentives were created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). They are called by many names, including the Federal Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program (click here).  You may hear the words “Meaningful Use’ in conversations with your clients.

These are not tax credits — the $$s flow from Medicare and Medicaid re-imbursements to the healthcare providers. However, there is great potential for utilizing the Georgia Retraining Tax Credit because the incentives require certified EHR software and employee training.

Many of your non-healthcare clients may also benefit from this incentive, including information technology support firms, software companies, law firms and others.

To be continued.