What is HIPAA? (http://www.hipaadvisory.com/regs/HIPAAprimer1.htm)
It started as a bill to let employees keep their healthcare plans when they switch jobs. But, in that wonderful congressional way, it also had the Administrative Simplification rules added. Administrative Simplification is a process for complicating administration by requiring lots of (fairly sensible) privacy and security restrictions on healthcare data. On April 14 they go live, and very few large healthcare providers are going to be ready. Specifically, they need to be able to notify patients whenever their information was released for mandatory public health reporting. I'm not sure why this is so hard, since we're throwing something together that can do it (and monitor the county for bioterrorism at the same time!) in a few weeks. But it isn't the first time I've wondered something like that.
And, yes, the loom is sitting on my workbench, constantly glaring at me reproachfully.
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It started as a bill to let employees keep their healthcare plans when they switch jobs. But, in that wonderful congressional way, it also had the Administrative Simplification rules added. Administrative Simplification is a process for complicating administration by requiring lots of (fairly sensible) privacy and security restrictions on healthcare data. On April 14 they go live, and very few large healthcare providers are going to be ready. Specifically, they need to be able to notify patients whenever their information was released for mandatory public health reporting. I'm not sure why this is so hard, since we're throwing something together that can do it (and monitor the county for bioterrorism at the same time!) in a few weeks. But it isn't the first time I've wondered something like that.
And, yes, the loom is sitting on my workbench, constantly glaring at me reproachfully.