What Are the HIPAA Standards, and Why?
In a statement to a Senate committee hearing September 23, the director of the Office of HIPAA Standards in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services explained how the new formats and code sets were arrived at, and the benefits that are expected to accrue to the health care system as a whole when everyone is using the same set of rules. The widespread and increasing use of computer technology has revolutionized the way health care claims are filed, noted Jared Adair, and the transition from paper to electronic transactions has already produced a number of benefits, including less expensive processing costs and faster transactions. But problems remain, including most importantly that claims must be submitted according to the requirements of each health care payer. In that respect, Adair said, the health care industry is far behind other sectors of the economy, including banking and shipping, where standardization of transactions now makes it possible for an individual to use an ATM
