Strategic Healthcare Initiatives Introduces HIPAA Compliance Tool

Amid the chaos and confusion associated with HIPAA, there is now a sliver of clarity.

In a response to the recently enacted Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Strategic Healthcare Initiatives, Inc. has announced the availability of a compliance tool for healthcare providers. The registered trademark of the new training and compliance tool is REGIMEN. The product is being marketed to healthcare providers throughout the United States.

REGIMEN has been in the research and development process for the past two years and, Strategic Healthcare Initiatives’ HIPAA Practice Manager, Paul Zigler, has led the effort. Zigler is a healthcare administration expert with over 30 years experience with such organizations as National Medical Enterprises, UT Southwestern and Columbia/HCA.

In announcing the availability of REGIMEN, Zigler noted, “We have created this compliance tool to fill a serious void in the healthcare profession. HIPAA is dramatically changing the way ALL healthcare providers must do business and a lack of knowledge can have extremely dire consequences. Violations of these privacy laws can result in crippling civil penalties and in some cases criminal charges can be brought.”

Some areas where healthcare providers can expect changes due to HIPAA include:

• How staff deal with patients in waiting areas
• How patient telephone calls are managed
• The methods by which medical records are taken, stored and disseminated
• The procedures by which insurance claims are processed
• How healthcare providers communicate with all other professionals

Because the compliance date for HIPAA has been set for October 2003, many healthcare providers would rather think about ANYTHING ELSE but dealing with the ramifications of this law. However, Zigler notes, “Procrastination on HIPAA is a big mistake. The decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to grant providers a two-year period prior to mandatory compliance with the regulations was made for a very sound reason - full compliance carries a significant and time-consuming administration burden. An entity covered under the HIPAA regulations is required to develop and implement a compliance plan which includes policies and procedures regarding: (1) the use and disclosure of protected health information, (2) the revocation of consents and authorizations, (3) disclosures to business associates (4) disclosures to personal representatives of individuals, (5) disclosures by workforces members, (6) compliance with rules regarding the release of the minimum amount of information, (7) creation of de-identified information, (8) accountings, (9) access to health information and (10) retention of information. Even if a healthcare provider started immediately, there is an enormous amount of work to get done!”

Strategic Healthcare Initiatives, Inc. is a healthcare management and consulting firm.

For more information on REGIMEN products, call us at 1-866-BE-HIPAA (866-234-4722).