HIPAA Regulations Timeline

HIPAA (HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) could be considered a work in progress. Here is a brief history of how the regulations were developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

• November 3, 1999 HIPAA Standards for Privacy published in the Federal Register.
• December 20, 2000 Final HIPAA privacy regulations are issued in a 1500+.page document.
• February 28, 2001 HIPAA rules reopen for public comment. Compliance date is pushed back.
• July 8, 2001 DHHS releases the first HIPAA privacy guidance statements.
• February 20, 2002 DHHS releases further information about delay in implementation of HIPAA guidelines to April 2003 and to 2004 for smaller organizations.
• August 14, 2002 DHHS releases final HIPAA regulations published in the Federal Register.

Throughout the history of the development of the HIPAA guidelines, confusion and politics molded the regulations. Compliance dates were pushed back, and numerous public comments and FAQs were issued to help clarify various pieces of the regulations.

The biggest driver of security technologies in the healthcare space is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA was originally intended to protect the right to healthcare for workers when they changed or lost their jobs. A by-product for the technology industry was the recognition that HIPAA would place a large administrative burden on the healthcare system. As a result of this view, the Administrative Simplification set of provisions allowed for the creation of requirements to move a number of Healthcare Solutions