TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has launched a new tool for accessing information on privacy and security laws regarding electronic medical records and health information exchange.

The Crosswalk Tool is the most recent addition to the agency’s Health Information Privacy and Security Resource Center on the Web at www.FHIN.net.

“People want to know that their health information is protected when they share it with healthcare providers,” said Holly Benson, the agency's secretary. “We created this tool to ensure that providers know the laws that protect their patients and their information.”

Developed as an educational resource for healthcare providers, the Crosswalk Tool enables providers to search for laws and regulations regarding data protection when information is being exchanged between healthcare organizations. The database contains information on privacy and security and helps providers understand the laws that govern the sharing of personal health data.

The tool was developed through a federally funded grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in the Department of Health and Human Services. The federal project launched a database called the Comparative Analysis Matrix, which holds information pertaining to health information exchange and contains 150 topics that directly or indirectly affect health data exchange, most of which are addressed by state law.

“Many healthcare providers are familiar with federal requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), but the Crosswalk Tool shows federal and state requirements side-by-side, eliminating many hours of research and giving more time for patient care,” said Karen Koch, vice president for the Florida Council for Community Mental Health and a member of the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration Project Legal Workgroup.

The agency’s Health Information Privacy and Security Resource Center was created as an educational resource for healthcare providers and consumers who would like to learn more about the privacy and security of electronic health records. 

In addition to information on privacy and security, the site includes information about the activities of the Florida Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration project, a national initiative in which many states, including Florida, participated. The HISPC project developed privacy and security solutions that are expected to expedite the adoption and use of EHRs through a national collaborative process.