HIPAA Compliant Medical Billing Software

In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA as it is more commonly known. HIPAA regulations affect every aspect of health care services including the billing of health services. Hence, HIPPA compliant medical billing software was invented.

Simply put, HIPAA protects the availability of health insurance when a worker changes or loses a job. HIPAA is meant to ensure that an individual who previously had insurance can continue to obtain coverage. Privacy and confidentiality are key factors to HIPAA. HIPAA limits the amount and type of health care information which can be shared as well as sets standards by which federal law must be followed to protect the privacy and confidentiality of patient information. The goal is to eliminate the possibility that a patient is denied insurance based on an unethical exchange of information about the patient's health history.

Medical billing software that is HIPAA compliant is designed to meet the requirements of this law. If you are seeking to purchase HIPAA compliant medical billing software, then heed the advice of “consumer beware”. Software companies are not required to comply with HIPPA laws however as a medical biller, you are responsible for meeting the law of how information is transmitted.

One important guideline is to ask the vendor to provide evidence that the software meets the Transaction Standards set by the federal government. The approved format is known as ANSI ASC X12. Computer systems are not mandated to use any particular format in how they store information but only must comply with HIPAA regulation as to how information is transmitted.

It is also important to know how the software meets the standards for the Privacy Rule. A patient must give consent for a physician to disclose his or her information. The disclosure must be documented, detailed and specific and have a definite expiration date. In return, a patient must be able to receive an accounting of all disclosures made within the past six years. If your vendor cannot provide you with this level of service then the software is not HIPAA compliant.

When buying HIPAA compliant medical billing software, it's critical that you consider how the software will or will not integrate into the rest of your office systems. It's not a matter of simply having your software package meet the specifications of the federal law but to ensure that all office systems maintain the integrity of HIPAA.

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