3M is helping healthcare providers comply with new breach reporting guidelines. The Minneapolis-based company has announced a breach notification tool for use on the latest versions of 3M ChartRelease™ software and 3M DisclosureTrac™ software.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 introduced tougher requirements for the regulation and enforcement of privacy and security in healthcare. Under the legislation all healthcare providers, plans and clearinghouses under HIPAA must notify the individual whose privacy was breached in addition to the Department of Health and Human Services. For breaches that affect more than 500 people, the organization must notify the media. In an age when security breaches are becoming more common, this legislation helps protect the privacy of patients and their health information.

"Protecting health information is a vital concern for all healthcare facilities," said Ray Terrill, senior vice president for 3M Health Information Systems. "If a breach occurs, it's essential that healthcare organizations have a plan in place to respond immediately. By enhancing our current software to further support the breach notification requirement, our clients can more quickly communicate and report breach incidents."

The tool, developed by 3M Health Information Systems, creates a customized letter to insert the affected patient’s information in addition to details of the breach. The program also saves the notifications and allows the organization to track the incidents by date and by patient.

The tool will be built into 3M ChartRelease and 3M DisclosureTrac software programs as an automated tool for tracking and reporting patients’ health information throughout the care process at the facility.

Source: 3M