Health Information Management

TCS causes greatest compliance difficulty, survey reveals

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, July 26, 2004

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Only 65% of providers, 62% of payers, and 64% of clearinghouses meet full compliance with the HIPAA transactions and code sets (TCS) regulations, according to a survey of 540 healthcare representatives sponsored by Phoenix Health Systems and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

When asked to indicate their current status relative to electronically conducting standard HIPAA transactions required for business operations, only four groups (clearinghouses, payers covering more than 1.5 million lives, payers covering 500,000-1.5 million lives, and physician offices with fewer than 10 physicians) reported conducting all HIPAA-compliant transactions. Half of payers and providers conduct "at least one but not all" transactions. Only 2% of respondents do not conduct any of the standard transactions.

On the bright side, the survey reveals positive numbers for HIPAA privacy and security compliance. Ninety-one percent of payers and 86% of providers reported full compliance with privacy regulations. Ninety-four percent of medium-sized physician practices were compliant, marking the most compliant facility type. Hospitals with 100-400 beds were the least compliant. Only 18% of organizations currently comply with the security regs, but close to 90% expect they will meet full security compliance by the April 2005 deadline.

Survey respondents ranked the following as the biggest roadblocks to overall HIPAA compliance:

  • Achieving successful integration of new systems, policies, and procedures
  • Interpreting HIPAA regulations
  • Overcoming budget and time constraints

Go to HIPAAdvisory.com to see the complete results of the survey "US Healthcare Industry Quarterly HIPAA Compliance Survey Results: Summer 2004."



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