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November 19, 2005

HIPAA Compliance

I attended a meeting this week where the topic of HIPAA arose. HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. It was implemented in the hopes that all medical transactions with insurance companies could be standardized electronically ultimately saving money for doctors, insurance companies, and the consumer. What it has become is a huge issue surrounding privacy.

It is the responsibility of a an ethical therapist to keep records, document progress, and provide a reasonable amount of privacy surrounding client records. But what are massage therapists' ultimate responsibility concerning HIPAA? I have found several articles on the issue including "What is HIPAA? Part 1", "And How Does It Affect You? Part2", and "Everything You Wanted to Know About HIPAA", and "Living the Law: An Update on HIPAA."

There should be enough information within these links to answer most questions concerning HIPAA compliance. For further questions concerning issues regarding massage therapists, contact either The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or Vivian Madison-Mahoney, LMT at Massage Today.

Posted by linda at November 19, 2005 8:43 AM