EHNAC to Host Industry Forum on Role of Management Service Organizations (MSOs) in Meaningful Use and Mitigating Risk of PHI Disclosures

Webinar to feature panel discussion on healthcare facilities’ relationship with MSOs and identifying risk and exposure to PHI disclosures

EHNAC to Host Industry Forum on Role of Management Service Organizations (MSOs) in Meaningful Use and Mitigating Risk of PHI Disclosures

<0> Dodge CommunicationsMegan Etling, 770-576-2572orEHNACDebra Hopkinson, 860-408-1620 </0>

The , a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, today announced a free webinar that will discuss the importance of safeguarding PHI on Thursday, September 27, 2012 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. EDT.The webinar, “Understanding the Role of Management Service Organizations in Achieving Meaningful Use and Mitigating Risk of PHI Disclosures,” will examine how various healthcare organizations working as or with management service organizations (MSOs) can achieve meaningful use objectives and mitigate the risk of PHI disclosures.

Host Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC, will be joined by a panel of MSO, healthcare and legal professionals from the industry with HIPAA, ARRA/HITECH and PHI expertise to answer questions related to the role of MSOs and the implications of healthcare data privacy and security. This panel includes:

“In today’s legislative environment, organizations protecting against the risk of breaches or disclosures of PHI is absolutely critical in any instance where clinical and administrative information is being exchanged,” said Barrett. “Through this educational webinar, we hope to further inform organizations about the role of MSOs and how they can better prepare and implement effective risk mitigation strategies in response to HIPAA, HITECH and the numerous other compliance mandates.”

The industry-expert panel will highlight impacts from the latest legislative regulations of HIPAA, ARRA, HITECH and other compliance mandates, as well as the role of MSOs in implementation of EHRs and achieving meaningful use compliance and metrics. In addition, panelists will discuss the potential ramifications of unlawful PHI disclosures, defining an organization’s risk tolerance, risk mitigation and planning strategies, and how to best prepare for an OCR audit.

An open forum will follow the panel discussion to enable attendees to submit questions specific to their own organizations. Those interested in attending may register for the webinar or visit for more information.

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data. These entities include electronic health networks, payers, financial services firms, health information exchanges, medical billers, outsourced services and e-prescribing solution providers.

EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit or contact .