Charter

*(1) WG NAME: Healthcare Identity Assurance *

(2) PURPOSE:

The Healthcare Identity Assurance Work Group shall design, implement and test reference applications for secure access to health information. Two use cases are proposed that would be developed and supported as part of the work group. One is for consumers to be able to access their health records with a standardized login system, and secondly, a way for healthcare workers to access secure health information.

The goal of this activity is to engage the broadest community participation to facilitate the adoption of the reference implementations and specifications by the healthcare industry, worldwide.Specific goals of this group are to:

2.1 Develop a reference implementation for consumer access, using open source solutions.
2.2 Develop a reference implementation for healthcare workers access to critical health information using open source solutions.
2.3 Review and endorse an identity assurance framework to support secure information sharing between authenticated individuals and systems to support HIEs and NHIN.
2.4 Recommend all or parts of these systems to be integrated with the emerging US Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) being developed by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Offices of the National Coordinator.
2.5 Educate the community on how the system should operate and how such a system should function.
2.6 Work with the vendor community to ensure interoperability between systems.

(3) SCOPE:  Explain the scope and definition of the planned work.

The Healthcare Identity Assurance WG is chartered to:

• Work with US and international groups including but not limited to: NHS-UK, Nathional Healthcare Systems (Potential with in the following countries: Sweden, Denmark, Japan and South Korea), Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) and similar US groups to recruit them into these discussions to provide the broadest possible input.
• Provide input to HITSP to ensure alignment with emerging federal standards.
• Provide Kantara Initiative with subject matter expertise regarding the unique identity management and regulatory challenges facing the healthcare industry.

Consumer health records access:

• Reach out to other appropriate groups to invite participation, including organizations that already "vet" large groups of consumers, like banks, insurance companies, AAA, etc.
• Discuss and identify the many different ways consumers are likely to access health information, including web-based, cell phone, Instant Messaging and emerging services like Facebook and Twitter.
• Discuss and recommend how healthcare enterprises will deliver this functionality while meeting all regulatory obligations as set by various bodies worldwide, including the issues of patient privacy, security and patient consent issues.
• Educate the health care community on the principles of consumer identity management.
• Cross-reference between "vendor-specific" concepts and standards.
• Coordinate with Identity Assurance and Accreditation Work Group (IAA WG).
• Devise and identify feasible reliable and economic method for consumer authentication and identification.
• Review appropriate ASTM standards surrounding patient identification and incorporate patient identification services in to discussions.

Healthcare worker health records access:

• Develop standardized use cases for health careworker access to critical health information
• Develop standardized use cases for healthcare worker access to healthcare information during emergencies, and for natural disaster
• Develop standards for this exchange for countries beyond the US.
• Develop a set of "Trust Roles" that can be exchanged between systems.

General Goals:

• Provide input to healthcare-focused activities, including, but not limited to, policy and marketing recommendations.
• To provide Kantara Initiative with spokespersons on healthcare identity assurance related topics.
• To act as an information gathering body within Kantara Initiative  that tracks significant trends in regulation affecting Healthcare IT worldwide and to feed this information back to the appropriate groups within Kantara Initiative, and where appropriate, with recommended actions (e.g. to respond to the US Government Request for Information)
• To provide inputs for external communications, such as collateral materials and contributed articles.
• Where appropriate, take part in the identification and planning of healthcare industry events.

(4) DRAFT TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: List Working Titles of draft Technical Specifications to be produced (if any), projected completion dates, and the Standards Setting Organization(s) to which they will be submitted upon approval by the Membership.

No technical specifications will be developed in this WG

(5) OTHER DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS: Other Draft Recommendations and projected completion dates for submission for All Member Ballot.

Develop appropriate White Papers and Technical Reports.

Develop Implementation Guidelines with specific focus toward coverage of the Venn of Identity protocol including: ID-WSF, SAML 2.0, Infocard and OpenID. For each of these protocol this WG will work to develop a mapping and accompanying guidelines to serve as a reference to Healthcare industry workers and consumer users explaining which protocol is appropriate in each Assurance Level context (where Assurance Levels are defined in the Liberty Identity Assurance Framework). 

The WG will work to devliver these recomendations, reports and papers by the close of Q2 2010. This projected schedule may be amended from time to time as and needed and the work develops.

(6) LEADERSHIP: Proposed WG Chair and Editor(s) (if any) subject to confirmation by a vote of the WG Participants.

John Fraser, MEDNETWorld.com
Pete Palmer, Wells Fargo

(7) AUDIENCE: Anticipated audience or users of the work.

The audience for this work group include:

• Developers and users of protocol including but not limited to: ID-WSF, SAML 2.0, InfoCard, OpenID, and  open-source developers and industry vendors and similar groups
• Healthcare standards groups including: NHIN Committees, Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), HL7, HITSP
• End users including consumers patients healthcare providers and public health groups

(8) DURATION: Objective criteria for determining when the work of the WG has been completed (or a statement that the WG is intended to be a standing WG to address work that is expected to be ongoing).

The Kantara Initiative Leadership Council charters the Healthcare Identity Assurance Work Group for five years. This charter may be amended from time to time, with changes approved by the Leadership Council. This charter will expire on July 1, 2014.

(9) IPR POLICY: The Organization approved Intellectual Property Rights Policy under which the WG will operate.

Kantara IPR Policy - Creative Commons Share Alike Option

(10) RELATED WORK AND LIAISONS: Related work being done in other WGs or other organizations and any proposed liaison with those other WGs or organizations.

Potential Kantara Initiative WGs:

• Identity Assurance WG - Liaise with Identity Assurance WG to be sure that deployment guidelines, papers and other deliverables of each WG are aligned with the needs of the Healthcare industry with particular attention to the Levels of Assurance and the various contexts that would requre Assurance needs.
• Consumer Identity WG - Liaise with Consumer Identity WG to share a Healthcare Identity Assurance view and feedback where it would apply to the consumer.
• Privacy and Public Policy WG - Liaise with P3WG to share a Healthcare Identity Assurance view and feedback where it would apply to business and government policy development.

Potential Healthcard standards Organizations:

• Nationwide Health Information Network - provide connectivity to the groups developing this system through the US Department of Health and Human Services.
• HITSP General Information from June 27, 2008 Teleconference
• HITSP 08 N 325 - 2008 06 09 AHIC-UC 2009 APPROVED Use Case Extensions and Gaps v3.0 from June 27, 2008 Teleconference
• IDENTITY CRISIS - An Examination of the Costs and Benefits of a Unique Patient Identifier for the U.S. Health Care System - a new RAND Study
• Patient Card Numbering Proposal Q&A from March 7, 2008 Teleconference
• New SPI-TC Constructs and Updates to Existing Specifications with Authors from June 27, 2008 Teleconference
• Identity Assurance Framework Presentation from July 11, 2008 Teleconference
• SPI-TC Work Item Matrix from July 11, 2008 Teleconference
• Other national health care systems

(11) CONTRIBUTIONS (optional): A list of contributions that the proposers anticipate will be made to the WG.

(12) PROPOSERS: Names, email addresses, and any constituent affiliations of at least the minimum set of proposers required to support forming the WG.

• John Fraser, MEDNETWorld.com
• Pete Palmer
• Richard Moore, eHealth Ohio
• Others