Hipaa Compliant


In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), also known as the Kennedy-Kassebaum Bill, which required that anyone who belongs to a group health insurance plan must be given the opportunity to obtain health insurance for a prescribed period of time after they have lost group coverage.

This law is designed to protect employees, particularly those with pre-existing conditions that would prohibit them from getting another health plan if they lose their jobs. This bill was designed also to provide protection for patients' medical records and to give people access to their own medical records and more control over how their information is used, as well as how it is disseminated. As such, HIPAA set standardized formats and procedures for electronic data exchange, data security, and confidentiality.

HIPAA Compliance Issues

Since the law was first enacted in 1996, and because the law is so complex, there have been a number of deadlines for compliance for different aspects of the legislation. Such aspects of compliance include:
  • Establishing Notice of Proposed Rule Making

  • Creating Privacy Standards of Individual Health Information

  • Employer Identifier Standard Final Rules

  • Security

  • Transactions and Code Sets for Software and Systems Testing.
HIPAA Compliance Resources

HIPAA took effect on April 14, 2003, and since then, many health care organizations have been struggling to comply with all the policies and procedures that are required. The compliance process is on-going and time-consuming. Businesses to assist the health care industry cope with these issues have emerged – providing consulting on such aspects as privacy audits and security.

There are also a number of HIPAA compliance products that can provide organizations with, disclosure accounting system software. This type of software features mechanisms to store data related to disclosures, release of information, and complaints, whether they are either manual or electronic. These products also provides administrative management components, including:
  • User defined tables

  • Security access as defined by roles

  • File importation along with status logging capabilities

  • Audit trail functions

  • User timeout function during periods of inactivity.
In addition to the availability of software products to assist with compliance, there are numerous conferences and seminars available on HIPAA compliance listed on the Internet. Such training is offered around the United States, and usually takes place over a two or three day period. The Internet also offers resources for professional associations and written materials related to HIPAA compliance.

A number of Web sites include updates on issues related to compliance, including such issues as updates on completed deadlines, enforcement, incidence of compliance, clarification of regulations and any changes that have occurred. In short, HIPAA is a major aspect of health care administration today and can seem overwhelming; however, there is plenty of assistance available through the Internet, through training, through business consulting services, and through written materials.

By Eve Visconti           


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