Home Health & Hospice Week

Talk to software, billing partners to make sure you'll be ready.

You can't afford to assume your software vendor or billing service is ready for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act transaction rule deadline - it's your business that's on the line.

That's the message in recent guidance on HIPAA compliance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In the document, CMS urges providers to stay in close touch with their software vendors or billing services to make sure they're taking adequate steps to be ready for the Oct. 16 HIPAA transaction rule deadline.

"As the [HIPAA] covered health care provider it is your responsibility to ensure that on or after October 16, 2003, the transactions you conduct electronically, or the third-party administrator or clearinghouse conducts on your behalf, are compliant with HIPAA requirements," CMS warns.

Download HIPAA Questionnaire To Ensure Compliance

The agency offers 27 questions providers should ask their vendors or billing services to make sure they're up to speed.

You should download CMS' list of questions and make sure you've covered each of them, experts advise. If you haven't, get on the phone with your vendor, TPA or clearinghouse now. The list of questions is at http://cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/Questionsforproviderstoaskvendors.pdf. v

Editor's Note: For more HIPAA information, see Eli's Health Information Compliance Alert or Eli's HIPAA Training Alert at www.eliresearch.com.