_______________________________________________________________________________ From: [log in to unmask] on Fri, Sep 11, 1998 20:54 Subject: Access AMIA - Issue 10 To: AMIA Members ACCESS AMIA On-line Communique of the American Medical Informatics Association Issue 10, September 10, 1998 * AMIA Annual Symposium Program Preview Mailed * AMIA Site Visit Brochure Mailed; Still Time for Columbia; Yale and Harvard in October * Proposed Rule for Security and Electronic Signature Standards for Individual Health Information Published; Comments Requested by October 13 * Michigan Study Looks at E-Mail in Patient/Physician Interactions * HOST Project with NIAP, ARCA Systems to Develop Criteria for Evaluating Security * WIPO Copyright Legislation AMIA ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM PREVIEW MAILED. AMIA members should be receiving this week their copy of the AMIA 1998 Annual Symposium Advance Registration and Program Preview. Members will later this month receive a full72-page preliminary program by mail. The most recent and fullest detail available on the program will always be available on the AMIA Web site Annual Symposium page at www.amia.org/f98main.htm. For members who have not yet registered for the conference, you may register using the form in the Advance Registration and Program Preview, the Preliminary Program, or online through AMIA's Web site. AMIA SITE VISIT BROCHURE MAILED; STILL TIME FOR COLUMBIA; YALE AND BOSTON IN OCTOBER. AMIA members are receiving a copy of the 1998-99 AMIA Site Visit brochure. The Columbia site visit will take place on Wednesday, September 16, and there is still time to register last-minute (call the AMIA office or fax the registration form to the AMIA office). While the heaviest concentration of site visits is between February and May, there are some important ones this fall as well. The Yale University School of Medicine site visit is October 14, 1998, and the five-site, two-day Boston visit is October 15-16. PROPOSED RULE FOR SECURITY AND ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE STANDARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INFORMATION PUBLISHED; COMMENTS REQUESTED BY OCTOBER 13. The Department of Health and Human Services has published a proposed rule for the security of individual health information and electronic signature use by health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers. It was published in the Federal Register, August 12, 1998 (volume 63, number 155), pages 43241-43280. The proposed rule is reportedly available at http://wais.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=1998_register&do cid=98 though we have not been able to get the server at that address to respond (keep trying - it may!). Print copies may be ordered for $8 from New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. The public comment deadline is October 13. Comments may be sent by e-mail to [log in to unmask] MICHIGAN STUDY LOOKS AT E-MAIL IN PATIENT/PHYSICIAN INTERACTIONS. A three-year randomized control trial on "The Effect of Enhanced Patient E-mail Access on Patient-Physician Communication and Satisfaction" will be carried out at the University of Michigan under the direction of David Stern, MD, PhD. The study will seek to answer the following questions: (1) what are the most compelling transaction types for healthcare e-mail users? (2) how does transactional e-mail effect the volume of e-mail communication, telephone calls, visits, and overall efficiency of the organization? and (3) how does transactional e-mail effect the satisfaction of patients and physicians? The study will be funded by the Intel Corporation. For further information, please contact the Consortium for Health Outcomes, Innovation, and Cost Effectiveness Studies (CHOICES) at 734-647-8094 or by email to [log in to unmask] HOST PROJECT WITH NIAP, ARCA SYSTEMS TO DEVELOP CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING SECURITY. The HOST Consortium is working with the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) and ARCA Systems to develop a set of common criteria by which healthcare information systems security may be evaluated, and comments are being sought. The development of the common criteria is intended to allow the construction of Protection Profiles. The project has the following four goals: (1) to define the various environments for which Protection Profiles must be developed; (2) to define the assets to protect, as defined by various policies, regulations, or best practices; (3) to define the threat and the subsequent security objectives; and (4) to develop healthcare Protection Profiles that reflect the above security requirements, objectives, and environments. The announcement of this project containing further information can be found at http://www.hostnet.org/CCM.html WIPO COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION. Both the House and Senate have adopted legislation to implement the World Intellectual Policy Organization (WIPO) Copyright and Performers and Phonograms Treaties. There are significant differences between the two, though (H.R. 2281 and S. 2037, respectively), and the two versions are to be negotiated in conference. To explore the issues and progress of this important legislation, see http://www.dfc.org, the Web site of the Digital Futures Coalition, a 42-member alliance of educational, library, and scientific societies. * * * * * * * * Access AMIA is edited by the AMIA office in Bethesda, Maryland. Please send news items and other comments to [log in to unmask] Remember that working group e-mail lists should be the vehicle used to communicate items of interest to particular working groups. Job announcements will not be posted in Access AMIA; please use AMIA's Job Exchange for those. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%