HIPAA is a set of rules and regulations which hospitals, doctors, healthcare providers and health plans must follow in order to provide their services aptly and that there is no breach of confidence while maintaining patient records.
Since 2005 medical providers have been urged to electronically send their claims in compliance with HIPAA to receive their payment.
Title I of this Act protects health insurance of workers and their families when they change or lose a job. While Title II calls for the electronic transmission of major financial and administrative dealings, including billing, electronic claims processing, as well as imbursement advice.
Medical billing service providers and insurance companies were not the only ones affected by HIPPA regulations - many patients found that their insurance companies and health care providers required additional waivers and paperwork related to HIPAA.
As a result of these changes, software companies and medical offices spent thousands of dollars on new technology and were forced to redesign business processes and software in order to become compliant with this new act.