First HIPAA Rules Published
First HIPAA Rules Published
Uniform electronic data standards are the first step in a long road to cut administrative waste in the health care system. Rules on patient privacy are expected by year's end.
When the federal government finally published the first set of HIPAA rules Aug. 17, it set in motion a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care information network. It also sent an underlying message to all health plans, providers and information clearinghouses: Get to work.
Until now, almost everyone has been sitting back and waiting to see if the new rules really would be passed. Some still remain skeptical that the government can overcome controversies that have delayed passage of related rules. But those closest to the process now say it is time to embrace the inevitable changes.
The process is called "administrative simplification," and it was initiated as a part of a 1996 law known as "HIPAA," the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The main purpose of that law was to protect workers from losing their insurance if they changed jobs, but the law also called for rules that would standardize administrative and financial transactions in the health care industry, and thus reduce overall costs.
Uniform electronic data standards are the first step in a long road to cut administrative waste in the health care system. Rules on patient privacy are expected by year's end.
When the federal government finally published the first set of HIPAA rules Aug. 17, it set in motion a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care information network. It also sent an underlying message to all health plans, providers and information clearinghouses: Get to work.
Until now, almost everyone has been sitting back and waiting to see if the new rules really would be passed. Some still remain skeptical that the government can overcome controversies that have delayed passage of related rules. But those closest to the process now say it is time to embrace the inevitable changes.
The process is called "administrative simplification," and it was initiated as a part of a 1996 law known as "HIPAA," the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The main purpose of that law was to protect workers from losing their insurance if they changed jobs, but the law also called for rules that would standardize administrative and financial transactions in the health care industry, and thus reduce overall costs.
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