On January 16, 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published rules that require updated versions of the standards for electronic transactions under the authority of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). These updated standards (Versions 5010 and D.0) are designed to replace the current standards (Versions 4010/4010A1 and 5.1) and are designed to promote greater efficiency in electronic transactions. Compliance with the new HIPAA 5010 and NCPDP D.0 standards is required by January 1, 2012.
This transition poses a number of challenges for covered entities which are defined as businesses that are required to achieve compliance in large part because these changes affect all healthcare segments: hospitals, physicians, dentists, pharmacies, PBMs, payers and vendors.
In December 2009, Emdeon Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Government Services, Miriam Paramore, testified before the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS). During her testimony, Paramore said, “Emdeon is committed to supporting our customers and leading the industry in compliance and adoption of the new standards and code sets.” She continued, “Our goal is to be ready in advance of the government mandated deadlines to ensure a smooth and successful transition.”
On January 22, 2010, Emdeon launched HIPAA Simplified to be a one-stop resource for the information that covered entities needed for HIPAA readiness. HIPAA Simplified will be a communications focal point as Emdeon helps its customers adopt the 5010 and D.0 standards prior to 2012. The website offers technical gap analyses, simplified business-level downloads, trading partner transition strategy information, frequently asked questions and testing tools.
Additionally, HIPAA Simplified is divided by business units across the entire healthcare industry, eliminating the need for complex web navigation or surfing multiple sites. Visitors simply select their line of business and all available resources are located on the page to browse and download. For free.
What really sets HIPAA Simplified apart from other resources, however, is its analytical tools that are designed to propel the transition strategies of covered entities. Only HIPAA Simplified offers informational and analytical tools, from high-level FAQs, to documents that explain the transition in business-level language, to in-depth technical analyses.
As the nation’s largest health information network, Emdeon is the healthcare industry’s most comprehensive source for HIPAA readiness. Just as with HIPAA 4010 and the National Provider Identifier (NPI), Emdeon is working diligently to deliver solutions that enable its customers to seamlessly meet the new requirements for HIPAA 5010, NCPDP D.0, and ICD-10.
Make sure to spread the word and bookmark www.hipaasimplified.com–it will be updated often as the compliance deadline approaches.
HIPAA Simplified
