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HIPAA: What should providers be doing to prepare for HIPAA

What should providers be doing to prepare for HIPAA?
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Provider Education

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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 includes provisions for the simplification of administrative and financial health care transactions by standardizing the electronic exchange of information between health care plans, clearinghouses and providers.
A series of articles and newsletters advising providers of  the impact of HIPAA will be published this year in Medi-Cal Update. A newsletter will also be distributed to professional associations, vendors and submitters to announce the impact of HIPAA changes. HIPAA information will also be posted to the Medi-Cal Web site.

Provider training and outreach will be conducted through Medi-Cal HIPAA workshops, provider workgroup meetings, medical associations and vendor conferences. Medi-Cal HIPAA workshops will be announced, with dates and times, in a future Medi-Cal Update.

Here’s how to prepare for HIPAA:

  • Read the final rule on Standards for Electronic Transactions and the implementation guides to understand the impact HIPAA will have on your organization
  • Find out what vendors, information technology departments and business associates are doing to become HIPAA-compliant
  • Inventory your technical systems to see if they are HIPAA-compliant
  • If you have a parent office, check to see if it is coordinating HIPAA implementation efforts
  • Conduct an operational and business assessment of your facility
  • Begin educating your staff about HIPAA’s impact on health care practices
  • Participate in Medi-Cal billing workshops, provider association meetings and other HIPAA training that is available

Look for more HIPAA information in next month’s flyer in the Medi-Cal Update.