The medical and health-care industries could benefit in many ways from this legislation, one being the streamlining of care giving as well as reduction of liability. However, a recent iBA survey of doctor's offices, clinics, and departments of hospitals showed there was general confusion or resentment about the law and what it is intended to do.

The confusion is a result of poor communication networks within the medical industry. There certainly is a lack of networking between lawmakers and the industry, but within the various sections of the medical industry there is tremendous isolation between the points where information ending in the medical records originates. So, to pass legislation covering all who contribute to an individual patient's medical records is a sweeping endeavor.

To further compound the problems, the iBA found that the average doctor does not generate his medical records in electronic formats. The dominant method is handwriting and storage of the information within a manila folder. The average doctor's office does not have a computer as a primary medical record-keeping tool; it is used only in billing and in correspondence.

The HIPAA regulation places severe penalties for those who violate or inadequately provide security, privacy, access, and coding requirements of individual patient's medical and health information. This has added to the confusion and resentment among doctors and care-givers.

The upsides to being HIPAA-compliant are many, and anyone regulated should consider them before getting too defensive or taking any actions. First of all, anyone having a question as to whether they are regulated, compliant, or exempt should do a little homework. Free consulting is offered at the iBHEALTH HIPAA Compliancy Support Center. This may be the fastest way to learn about current filing requirements and about available online services that provide HIPAA compliant services.

The doctors we interviewed were generally not "state-of-the-art" electronic-device users and certainly weren't comfortable with the concept of dictating medical information into a hand-held device, reviewing the transcription later, approving it, and completing the record-keeping. They also aren't comfortable with migrating their record keeping into a browser-based desktop data-based format of filing. For this group of computer "newbies", the learning curve and ultimate success may seem like accelerated science fiction, but it really isn't that bad. There were a few doctors who are ahead of the curve. These trendsetters are using PDA's (personal digital assistants) to track schedules, patient information, and examination notes; some are even using voice-recognition programs allowing them to dictate speech-to-text.

Assuming that the smoke clears in the near future and medical records are generally kept in electronic formats, one must also look at the role this could play in the online services and Internet broadcasting network industry. In essence, the online/browser-based medical record suite (like the Novasoft Medafolder services at iBHEALTH) should become a viable solution, providing inexpensive monthly service plans, unlimited secure transaction recordings, and report generators--even training and compliancy support.

The HIPAA regulation covers an estimated 2 million individuals, all working in the medical and health care industries and all contributing to, or having access to, individual health insurance medical records. Like it or not, if you are in the industry, it will have an impact on your day-to-day operations. The good news is that you aren't alone, and there is great advantage in being part of a crowd; at least when it comes to being part of an large electronic group.

You can look for the confusion to continue for a few years, because this is a massive movement within the medical and health-care provider industry. It also marks several points of maturation in the insurance and organizational areas of the industry as well. Presently, payers and clinics are often at odds with one another regarding payment: disputes of fees, codes for service identification--even paper forms fueling payment schedules and amounts paid.

The HIPAA legislation contains several titles intended to "simplify" these areas or recording-keeping and billing. Simplification will mean that standard codes and rates will be posted in "standard" electronic forms, ending the dispute, bickering, or discussing of billing and triggering a standard 29-days-to-pay window.

So the medical industry can look forward to operating at the speed of light; in fact, it is all ready the law.