News Briefs: Week of Nov. 9-13

This roundup includes the following news briefs:

The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has extended the enforcement deadline for a regulation known as the Identity Theft "Red Flags" Rule until June 1, 2010. The FTC announcement came on Oct. 30 at the request of Congress; no additional reasons for the delay were cited.

The enforcement date for the antifraud regulation has been a moving target. The original date by which physicians and other entities were to come into compliance with the rule was Nov. 1, 2008. However, as the regulatory overseer of the regulation, the FTC subsequently extended the deadline to May 1, 2009, then to Aug. 1, and then to Nov. 1.

In related news, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia announced on Oct. 30 that the FTC may not apply the red flags rule to attorneys. The rule requires financial institutions and creditors -- including physician practices -- to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs as part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (62-page PDF; About PDFs).

HHS published an interim final rule on Oct. 30 that strengthens enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, privacy and security rules. The interim final rule is effective on Nov. 30, and public comments will be accepted through Dec. 29.

According to an Oct. 30 HHS news release, the final rule was adopted to meet requirements mandated by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, or HITECH, Act, which "significantly increase the penalty amounts the (HHS) secretary may impose for violations of the HIPAA rules and encourage prompt corrective action."

Georgina Verdugo, director of HHS' Office for Civil Rights, said in the release that imposing stronger penalties for health care professionals, health plans and other health care entities would encourage their compliance with HIPAA and "give consumers greater confidence in the privacy and security of their health information."

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ, has revamped a portion of its Web site devoted to educating and engaging consumers, physicians and other users about comparative effectiveness research.

Dubbed the Effective Health Care Program, the new section of the AHRQ site has undergone reorganization and now features easy-to-use menus. Highlights include a glossary of terms and phrases commonly used in comparative effectiveness research and links to research reviews and research summary guides. Look for redesigned sections on how to submit nominations for comparative effectiveness research and how to comment on evidence reviews.

HHS agencies and departments will continue to be funded at their present 2009 fiscal year levels, according to a continuing resolution that was passed to keep the government financed through Dec. 18. However, the delay in passing a Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill for the 2010 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, will hold up grant distribution, including grants for Title VII primary care training programs under the Public Health Service Act.

In late July, the House passed a Labor/HHS/Education spending bill, but the Senate has yet to approve a Labor/HHS/Education spending bill, creating the need for the continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded during the current fiscal year.

The CDC recently launched a Vision Health Initiative Web site featuring information related to vision and eye health, including various research projects, journal publications and reports, resources for health professionals and consumers, and an interactive map with state-specific vision and eye health statistics.

According to the CDC, 3.3 million Americans ages 40 and older had blindness or visual impairment in 2004, and that number is expected to double by 2030 because of national increases in diabetes and other chronic diseases, as well as the overall aging of the U.S. population.

The AMA has launched a Web-based influenza health-assessment program, AMAfluhelp.org, to help patients determine the severity of their flu symptoms based on CDC guidelines.

The Web site can help patients assess their own flu symptoms -- or those of a child or loved one -- and offer guidance on whether they should seek care. Patients can share the information with their physicians, who then can use a set of online tools offered on the site to monitor patients' symptoms, facilitate care and treatment decisions, and manage their practice's flow of patients with flu.

The AMA said in an Oct. 22 press release that AMAfluhelp.org is a free resource for patients and physicians, but physicians may charge their patients a fee to provide online health monitoring services.

(Editor's Note: this website was later renamed AMA-Health.org and expanded to give patients access to additional health resources and tools.)