Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

The straight dope on the first five months of HIPAA enforcement. Your patients are showing they're willing to speak up when they feel their privacy rights are being violated. During the first five months of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule enforcement, the HHS Office for Civil Rights has received more than 1,800 complaints, according to OCR Director Richard Campanelli. That averages out to more than 15 complaints per business day. Speaking at a hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging Sept. 23, Campanelli said OCR has already resolved and closed about 30 percent of those complaints. He said that the closed matters either didn't raise a real privacy issue, didn't involve an actual violation of HIPAA or were resolved "expeditiously and informally - through voluntary compliance - usually after providing some technical assistance." To see a copy of Campanelli's prepared testimony, go to http://aging.senate.gov/hearings/hr111rc.pdf.