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HIPAA's unfinished business: Uncertainties about compliance

Major portions of the regulations are earmarked for revisions or yet to be issued, leaving doctors scratching their heads about how to comply on time.

By Amy Snow Landa, amednews staff. May 6, 2002.

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Physicians have less than six months to prepare before the first of several major deadlines under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act hits their practices. Many doctors are striving to comply with the myriad mandates created by the 1996 federal law, but they aren't entirely sure what is required of them, and some feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the task.

To make matters more challenging, physicians are trying to adapt their practices to what is essentially a moving target. A large chunk of the rules has not yet been published in final form, while other pieces are embroiled in political controversy and subject to change.

In the face of this uncertainty, most HIPAA experts recommend that physicians do their best to comply with the regulations as they stand while recognizing that they will continue to evolve.

But there is also growing frustration in the health care system with the continued delay of portions of the HIPAA rules, which some attribute to foot-dragging by the Health and Human Services Dept.

One concern is that HHS has not yet finalized the new standards for transmitting patient data electronically. Physicians and other health care "entities" are required this October to either comply with the transactions standards or apply for a one-year extension.

A health care coalition that includes the AMA sent a sharply worded letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson in March urging the department to fix the standards as soon as possible. The continued delay wastes valuable resources the health care industry has already invested in complying with the regulations, they wrote. [...]