Health IT JumpStart: The Best First Step Toward an IT Career in Health Information Technology

Chapter 4

HIPAA Regulations

• HIPAA overview
• HIPAA elements
• Title II: Administrative simplification and fraud prevention
• Electronic data interchange

Prior to utilizing computers, massive amounts of paperwork were transferred between the different players in the healthcare ecosystem. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was the beginning step for putting patient information into an electronic format. Hospitals had been using computers to track patient movement, to improve patient outcomes by using diagnostic imaging hardware, and to provide decision management for people with chronic diseases. But with the number of payers and providers, something had to change in the workflow. Fraud could easily happen with providers ...