Meetings: Vital and Health Statistics National Committee,

[Federal Register: July 13, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 133)]

[Notices]

[Page 37583]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr13jy98-108]

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics: Meetings

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Department of Health and Human Services announces the following advisory committee meeting.

Name: National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS). Subcommittee on Standards and Security.

Times and Dates: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., July 20, 1998; 9:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m., July 21, 1998.

Place: James R. Thompson Center, Room 9-040, 100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois.

Status: Open.

Purpose: Under the Administrative Simplification provisions of P.L. 104-191, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to adopt standards for specified transactions to enable health information to be exchanged electronically. The law requires that, within 24 months of adoption, all health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers who choose to conduct these transactions electronically must comply with these standards. The law also requires the Secretary to adopt a number of supporting standards including standards for unique health identifiers for providers, plans, employers and individuals. The Secretary is required to consult with the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) in complying with these provisions. The NCVHS is the Department's federal advisory committee on health data, privacy and health information policy.

The NCVHS already has provided recommendations and advice to HHS relating to most of the transaction and supporting standards, and HHS is in the process of publishing several Notices of Proposed Rulemaking that describe the proposed standards for public review and comment in the Federal Register. HIPAA also requires the Secretary to adopt a standard for unique identifier for individuals for use in the health care system. Because of privacy concerns and because no consensus exists in the industry concerning the standard for a unique health identifier, HHS is planning to issue, later this summer, a Notice of Intent, i.e., a request for information on various alternatives and issues at this stage rather than proposing a standard.

To assist in developing the NCVHS recommendations to HHS relating to the standard for unique health identifier, the NCVHS Subcommittee on Standards and Security has scheduled a public meeting on July 20-21, 1998 in Chicago, Illinois. For the meeting, the Subcommittee is inviting specific, interested and affected organizations and individuals to provide their views, perspectives and concerns, to address specific questions relating to the unique health identifier, and to answer further questions from the Subcommittee. Other individuals and organizations that would also like to submit written or oral statements to the Subcommittee on these issues are invited to do so at the meeting. Speakers will be asked to address a series of questions relating to the unique health identifier. The tentative agenda for the meeting, as well as a description of the panels of speakers and the list of questions are posted on the NCVHS website: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/ncvhs. To further assist speaker, a white paper that outlines the various potential alternatives for the standard for the unique health identifier as well as issues relating to privacy, implementation and other considerations has been posted on the HHS administrative simplification website: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov.admnsimp.

The NCVHS plans to hold additional public hearings on the unique health identifier and related issues, including a planned hearing in Washington, DC in September. The dates of subsequent meetings will be announced as they are selected.

Contact Person for More Information: Substantive program information as well as summaries of the meeting and a roster of subcommittee members may be obtained from Bill Braithwaite, lead Subcommittee staff, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, DHHS, Room 440-D, Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, telephone (202) 260-0546, or Marjorie S. Greenberg, Executive Secretary, NCVHS, NCHS, CDC, Room 1100, Presidential Building, 6525 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, telephone (301) 436-7050. Information also is available on the NCVHS home page of the HHS website: http:// aspe.os.dhhs.gov/ncvhs.

Dated July 6, 1998. James Scanlon, Director, Division of Data Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

[FR Doc. 98-18448Filed7-10-98; 8:45 am]

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