Federal Register Notice
1/28/98
(63 FR 4268)

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics: Meetings

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Department of Health and Human Services announces the following advisory committee meeting.

Name: National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), Subcommittee on Health Data Needs, Standards, and Security.

Times and Dates: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., February 9, 1998. 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., February 10, 1998.

Place: Room 303A, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20201.

Status: Open.

Purpose Under the Administrative Simplification provisions of Public Law 104-191, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to adopt standards for specified transactions to enable health information to be exchanged electronically. The law requires that, within 24 months of adoption, all health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers who choose to conduct these transactions electronically must comply with these standards. The law also requires the Secretary to adopt a number of supporting standards including standards for code sets and classifications systems. The Secretary is required to consult with the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) in complying with these provisions. The NCVHS is the Department's federal advisory committee on health data, privacy and health information policy.

The NCVHS already has provided recommendations to HHS relating to most of the transaction and supporting standards, and proposed regulations adopting those standards are being prepared by HHS for public review and comment in the Federal Register. HIPAA allowed an additional twelve months for adoption of the standard for claims attachments. To assist in the development of the NCVHS recommendations to HHS relating to the claims attachment standards, the NCVHS Subcommittee on Health Data Needs, Standards, and Security has scheduled a public meeting on February 9-10, 1998. At the meeting, the Subcommittee will obtain the perspectives, concerns and recommendations of interested and affected parties relating to this standard. In addition, the Subcommittee will review and discuss its overall work plan for the year, including medical classification issues and activities relating to population based-data.

Notice: In the interest of security, the Department has instituted stringent procedures for entrance to the Hubert H. Humphrey building by non-government employees. Thus, persons without a government identification card may need to have the guard call for an escort to the meeting.

Contact Person for More Information: Substantive program information as well as summaries of the meeting and a roster of committee members may be obtained from Bill Braithwaite, lead Subcommittee staff, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, DHHS, Room 440-D, Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, telephone (202) 260-0546, or Marjorie S. Greenberg, Executive Secretary, NCVHS, NCHS, CDC, Room 1100, Presidential Building, 6525 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, telephone (301) 436-7050. Information also is available on the NCVHS home page of the HHS website: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/ncvhs/, where the agenda for the meeting will be posted when available.

Dated: January 21, 1998.

James Scanlon,

Director, Division of Data Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

[FR Doc. 98-2041 Filed 1-27-98; 8:45 am]

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