Health Providers Facing Stiff HIPAA Regulations
‘Business Associates’ Provision
HIPAA will directly cover “business associates” of
covered entities beginning in February 2010. Examples of entities that
might fall under this newly-regulated category are vendors to the health
care industry, such as IT providers, billing and phone services, third
party administrators of health plans, and document or data storage
companies. “We’re getting a lot of calls from business
associates,” said Fehn. “It’s the first time
they’ve had to take [HIPAA] seriously. Before, it was just a
contractual obligation [with the covered entity]. Now they will be
subject to penalties.”
Next: The
Physicians Corner
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