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AHIMA releases HIPAA compliance study results

Compliance Monitor, April 28, 2004

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To celebrate the HIPAA privacy rule's first birthday in April, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) released the results of a "state of the regulation" survey to gauge healthcare facilities' status in privacy rule implementation.

The study found that although the majority of surveyed healthcare providers had a high level of compliance, there were some problem areas, including processes involving the release of protected health information (PHI).

AHIMA received responses from 1,192 healthcare workers-58% were designated privacy or security officials, 11% were privacy or security officials without formal titles, and 31% served on HIPAA privacy and security teams or committees.

The survey reported that 68% of respondents said their facilities are currently between 85%-99% compliant, while just 8% reported being 50% or less compliant. Twenty-three percent of respondents said their organizations are fully compliant.

Four areas emerged as the most problematic when complying with privacy requirements:

• Accounting for release of PHI (39%)
• Obtaining PHI from other providers (33%)
• Access and release of information to relatives or significant others (32%)
• Business associate requirements (25%)

From a staff perspective, 85% of respondents said their facilities have a committee or task force related to privacy and security; 45% of respondents said their facilities employ a full-time privacy official.

To view the survey results, click here.

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