Providers Not Ready for HIPAA Security, Survey Reports

WASHINGTON–While health care providers are largely compliant
with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s
Privacy Rule, most can’t say the same about the law’s Security
Rule, which took effect April 20.

That’s according to a new study released April 18 from the
American Health Information Management Association. The study
analyzed information from 1,140 respondents. While 91 percent said
they were compliant with most elements of the Privacy Rule, only 17
percent said they were completely compliant with the Security
Rule.

The study was released on the same day the Federal
Register published a notice proposing monetary penalties for
entities that violate HIPAA’s administrative simplification
provisions, which include the security and privacy regulations.
Stakeholders have 60 days to comment on the proposal.

The Federal Register notice, including instructions for
submitting comments, is available by
clicking here.

For more on HIPAA, visit the CMS Web site by clicking
here.