HISPC

Health Information Security & Privacy Collaboration (HISPC)

To address privacy and security issues that may vary among the different states, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded the Privacy and Security Collaborative for three years to assess, plan and implement methods and processes that address these variations. Colorado participated for all three years.

The Colorado Governor's office designated CORHIO as the administrator of the Colorado project, which included the following three phases.

Phase 1: During the first phase, Colorado produced a comprehensive report on the variations of business practices and state regulatory climate for privacy and security, relative to health information technology.

Phase 2: For the second phase of the collaborative, CORHIO developed privacy and security procedures through a collaborative process with the AHRQ Demonstration partners as well as the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, the Department of Public Health and Environment, and Exempla Hospital System. These policies were also shared with consumer representatives.

Phase 3: The third phase of the collaborative includes both (1) improved understanding and technical improvements to the privacy and security of health information exchange through the adoption of standards that are applicable throughout Colorado and beyond and (2) improved ability to engage and educate consumers about health information exchange, particularly regarding privacy and security issues.