AHA calls for NCVHS action to accelerate use of HIPAA transaction standards

The National Committee on Vital Health Statistics should investigate barriers to greater use of adopted Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act transaction standards and identify solutions, the AHA today told an NCVHS panel. Testifying at the NCVHS hearing, George Arges, AHA senior director of AHA’s health data management group, said possible solutions include adopting the acknowledgment standard as a HIPAA standard; modifying the existing standards to include needed information; improving operating rules to ensure all parties are using the standards in the same way; and further educating covered and non-covered entities on the importance of the standards and how they work. “The AHA looks forward to working with NCVHS and others to achieve greater utilization of the HIPAA standards,” Arges said.