How does HIPAA relate to HCFA?
HCFA will now require providers to obtain permission to use computerized certifications. A request must contain the provider’s physician identification system, how data is displayed for physician review before electronic attestation, how physician identity is determined upon certification (encryption) and how it is stored in the provider s system. They also want to know how the system records a system-generated date and time of entry at the point of attestation as well as system backup procedures for prolonged downtime. Along with this concern is a requirement for standards of encryption. As a developer we have strived to educate ourselves about HIPAA and to prepare to comply. HIPAA law is still a moving target, but there are a few certainties. For one, the ability to monitor access and dissemination of confidential information is a certainty. Patients concerns about who is provided personal information may no longer be an afterthought. These requirements constitute a rewrite of softwa
