HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law August 21, 1996. Under Title II, Administrative Simplification, the healthcare industry is required to meet national standards in the areas of (1) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI); (2) Privacy; and (3) Security. The compliance date for Electronic Transactions and Code Sets is October 16, 2002; the Health Information Privacy Standards compliance date is April 13, 2003.

HIPAA compliance will require extensive resources for all healthcare providers, especially those in rural areas. A March 2001 survey done by the American Hospital Association found that 2.6% of rural hospitals report they are "very ready" or "ready" to meet the deadline, while another 51% report that they are "somewhat unready" or "not at all ready" to meet the deadline. Following are some resources that might be helpful for States assisting rural healthcare providers in HIPAA education and compliance efforts.

             Tools Resources Organizations

Tools

CMS Free Medicare Electronic Media Claim (EMC) Software

CMS HIPAA Model Compliance Extension Form

CMS HIPAA Site

CMS Training Package for NPI

HHS First Guidance on New Patient Privacy Protections

HIPAA Privacy Checklist

National Uniform Billing Committee's EDI Transactions Primer

Southern HIPAA Administrative Regional Process (SHARP)

Resources

The following documents from HRSA's Dr. Elizabeth Duke contain important information on administrative simplification efforts for HIPAA compliance. They contain the appropriate steps to take in implementing the rules which will result in significant cost savings.
PDF File 1
PDF File 2

Beacon Partners' HIPAA Comply FAQ

CMS HIPAA Plus

HHS HIPAA Privacy Fact Sheet

HIPAA COW (HIPAA Collaborative of Wisconsin)

Nebraska Association of Hospitals and Health Systems' HIPAA Site

Phoenix Health System HIPAA Advisory

Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI)

Organizations

Currently None Listed