Healthcare Counsel, Inc will help you with:

• Building initial organizational awareness of HIPAA
• Comprehensive assessing of the organization's information security systems, policies and procedures
• Developing an action plan with deadlines and timetables
• Developing a technical and management infrastructure to implement the plan
• Implementing a comprehensive action plan, including
  • Developing new policies, processes, and procedures
  • Building "chain of trust" agreements with service organization
  • Redesigning a compliant technical information infrastructure
  • Purchasing new, or adapting, information systems
  • Developing new internal communications
  • Training and enforcement

Today, health providers and plans use many different electronic formats. Implementing a national standard will mean we will all use one format, thereby "simplifying" and improving transaction efficiency nationwide. The proposed rule requires use of specific electronic formats developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), for most transactions except claims attachments and first reports of injury.

Virtually all health plans will have to adopt these standards, regardless if the information is on paper, by phone or fax. Providers using non-electronic transactions are not required to adopt the standards, but they will have to contract with a clearinghouse to provide translation services.