So, as if healthcare practitioners didn’t already have
enough to focus on with Obamacare, HITECH and the Flu epidemic, the Obama administration
through the Department of Health and Human Services, has released a massive pile
of new regulations in a 563 page final rule on HIPAA Privacy, Security and
Breach Notification among other related issues. This is in the face of already
significant non-compliance among providers, the new limitations on administrative
costs under Obamacare and the already rapidly rising costs of insurance to
consumers. As a HIPAA compliance professional, I am disheartened by the constant
piling of additional non-treatment burdens onto our healthcare service
providers. There is a point where the desire for privacy interferes with the
ability to focus on the delivery of quality affordable and flexible care options. Over the next
couple of weeks, I will be reading every page of this arduous document and
beginning the process of trying to assist healthcare professionals in understanding
its implications.  Stay tuned.