The HIPAA third degree

Quick View. Aug. 18, 2003.

	From CMS' questions for vendors
Ask:	What HIPAA transactions does your product support? Claims and encounter information? Payment and remittance? Claims status inquiry? Eligibility inquiry? Referral and authorization inquiry?
Ask:	Which products do you now sell or support that will not be supported after the Oct. 16 deadline or will not be HIPAA-compliant?
Ask:	Does my office need a particular release of your software to implement the HIPAA transactions, or is an entire upgrade required?
Ask:	What is the minimum hardware requirement for servers and workstations to run the HIPAA-compliant version?
Ask:	When will the software upgrades be available?
Ask:	What training, support and services are available? Is there an extra charge?
Ask:	Whom specifically can I contact for HIPAA electronic transactions questions?
Ask:	Will your software support the required HIPAA code sets for diagnosis and treatment codes?
Ask:	How can we submit transactions directly to you? Are there any changes in connectivity?
Ask:	Have you tested successfully with any of my payers? Which ones?
Ask:	What are your contingency plans if you cannot be ready on time?

With physicians facing delayed reimbursement if they fail to meet the Oct. 16 HIPAA deadline for electronic transaction standards, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a list of questions for practice management software, claims clearinghouse, billing service or third-party administrator vendors.

Source: CMS HIPAA questions page (www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/questionsforproviderstoaskvendors.pdf)

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