HIPAA requirements for
Electronic Transactions & Code Sets (TCS) final
modifications to meet the extended deadline of October
16,2003, have been published and incorporated into the
standards. HHS has designated CMS (Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services) as the overseer for compliance. HIPAA
implementation specifications can be downloaded free of
charge from the
Washington Publishing Company. Publications for Code
Sets are in paper & electronic form & can be purchased
from vendors such as the AMA, CMS and HHS.
The Privacy compliance date
of April 14, 2003 has come and gone, but how many covered
entities are totally compliant? The HIPAA Privacy rule
establishes standards to protect the confidentiality of
individually identifiable health information maintained or
transmitted electronically in connection with certain
administrative & financial transactions. The rule provides
new rights for individuals with respect to protected
health information about them & mandates the obligations
of health care providers, health plans, & health care
clearinghouses. Know the Rules! Make sure you understand
what level of compliance is necessary for your
organization. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR), a
department within HHS has been designated as the overseer
for compliance with the Privacy Rules.
The final security rule
adopts standards for the security of electronic protected
health information that is collected, maintained, used
or transmitted electronically. These standards
require measures to be taken to secure this information
while in the custody of entities covered by HIPAA (covered
entities) as well as in transit between covered entities
and from covered entities to others. The Electronic
Signature section of the proposed rule will be published
in its final state at a later date and is excluded from
the final security rules. The final security rules will
reside in subchapter C of title 45, consisting of parts
160, 162, and 164. Subpart A of part 160 contains the
general pro- visions applicable to all the Administrative
Simplification rules. Part 162 contains the Electronic
Transaction and Code Sets and will contain the identifier
standards. Part 164 contains the standards relating to
Privacy and Security. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) has been designated as the responsible
agency for overseeing compliance and complaints related to
the security final rules. The Compliance Date for Security
is April 21, 2005 (small health plans April 21, 2006).
The National Provider
Identifier (NPI) will be published in July 2003, according
to the May 27, 2003 agenda become final in 2002. The NPI
is proposed as an 8 position announcement in the Federal
Register. No hint as yet as to the content or enumeration
process.
