Health Data Management Daily News Bulletin reports the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has missed the June 30 deadline for publication of the HIPAA final transactions and code sets rule. An in-depth article on HIPAA compliance in AMA News reports the rules will require all providers, insurers and clearing houses to use national transactions formats for electronic transactions. In addition, these rules would require safeguarding patient records through encryption, need-to-know-access for employees and security oversight.

Jeanne Scott, director of government relations at NDC Health Information Services is quoted in the article as saying: “If anyone [software vendors] tells you that they are fully HIPAA compliant, you should run out of the room. They are lying through their teeth because the regulations are not final yet,”

Up-to-date information with additional resources on the the U.S. Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA) can be found at:
http://www.jimintriglia.com/Library/notebook/hipaa/hipaa.shtm