Spring 2025 Issue

Editor’s Note: Course Correction
By Dave Yeager
For The Record
Vol. 37 No. 2 P. 4

Any plan, no matter how meticulous, needs to be updated from time to time. Unforeseen complications and unintended consequences often conspire to necessitate a change in course. Look no further than the current debate over the HIPAA Security Rule. Although it was intended to protect patient privacy, the reality of our digital age is that it’s in need of a reboot. This scenario is playing out in the larger health care landscape, as well. As the articles in this issue demonstrate, humans’ ability to keep up with technology is being tested on a regular basis.

In our cover feature, Elizabeth S. Goar reports on the latest attempt to update the HIPAA Security Rule. HIPAA has been updated and revised since it was signed into law in 1996, but most people in the industry feel that it doesn’t adequately address our current digital environment. That doesn’t mean they agree on how to do it. Proponents of the rule changes say they’re essential for maintaining patient privacy, especially in the face of mounting cyberthreats. Opponents say the rule is overly broad and will penalize smaller practices that have fewer resources available to modernize their digital infrastructures. The changes have yet to be finalized, but there is no shortage of opinions on how they should be implemented.

Increased digitalization is needed in many areas of health care. One such area is clinical documentation integrity. Resource shortages, complex reimbursement scenarios, and a changing regulatory landscape make it challenging for health care organizations to keep pace. Selena Chavis takes a closer look at the challenges that organizations face, as well as the practices that can help them get the most from their available resources. Some solutions are technological, while others are process oriented. To learn more, turn to page 16.

Another process that’s in the midst of change is the use of clinical calculators. Physicians once used race-based calculators for many conditions, but studies have shown that the methodology behind race-based calculators is flawed. Race-neutral calculators are now considered to be the standard of care, but some organizations have been slow to adopt them. In addition, some clinical calculators have been updated more readily than others. Jennifer Lutz has the latest on the science behind clinical calculators and the challenges of updating them.

Finally, Bart Howe discusses clinical information exchange. Managing privacy while ensuring that patient data is used to improve care can be difficult in our fragmented health care information system. Although progress has been made in the past few decades, there is still more work to be done. As the volume of patient data increases, the use of AI and predictive analytics may help improve interoperability.

Enjoy the issue.

— Dave Yeager
david.yeager@gvpub.com