What is HIPAA?

In August of 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted. HIPAA requires the development and implementation of standards for the exchange, storage and handling of certain health care administrative data, security measures and privacy protections.

On August 17, 2000, the final regulations for the transactions and code sets were published, with an October 16, 2002, deadline for compliance. The final regulation for health privacy was published in December 2000. The compliance date for this regulation was April 14, 2003. 

HIPAA impacts every aspect of the health care industry. To learn more about HIPAA, see our list of links to commercial, nonprofit, and government general-information sites.