The State of HIPAA Privacy and Security Compliance

April 2004 The State of HIPAA Privacy and Security Compliance April 14, 2004, will mark the first anniversary of the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) final privacy rule. This long-awaited regulation represented a critical step in the development of national standards for the use and disclosure of personal health information. Many in the healthcare industry, including the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), supported its development and recognized its importance in protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of health information. But even before it took effect, the HIPAA privacy rule created concern within the . . .