Vendors
HIPAA
The Administrative Simplification provision of the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was enacted Aug.
21, 1996. At varying levels, all health care organizations are affected
by the Administrative Simplification provision of HIPAA. This includes
all health care providers, all health plans, employers, public health
entities, billing agencies, clearinghouses, information system vendors
and others.
Specifically, the Administrative Simplification provision of HIPAA requires:
- Standardization of electronic patient health, administrative
and financial data (Transactions and code sets)
- Unique identifiers for employers, health plans and
health care providers (Identifiers)
- Standards protecting the confidentiality (Privacy)
and integrity of individually identifiable health information
(Security)
Please visit the Health
and Human Services Web site (external link) to
read the regulations and receive answers to frequently asked questions.
National Provider Identifier (NPI)
The administrative simplification provisions of HIPAA require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to adopt a national standard identifier for covered health care providers. The National Provider Identifier (NPI) will be the standard identifier and CMS is developing the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) to identify providers and assign NPIs.