I really appreciate Dave's and Marcallee's efforts in this area. I have no interest in seeing this discussion tabled. In the beginning, I would have agreed that TPAs are "out of scope." But since then, Marcallee has certainly convinced me that if the TPA "problem" cannot be gotten out of the way, then automated trading partner "discovery" has less value. As far as I know, we are the only WEDI/SNIP group worried about this issue - the impediment of paper TPAs - at the moment.
If in their wisdom, the Business Issues SWG management finds it prudent to create a new group concerned with ways to lubricate healthcare e-commerce by eliminating or ameliorating the delays in trading imposed by paper TPAs, we in the WEDi/SNIP ID & Routing SIG will defer to that decision. In the meantime, I'm only too happy to see Dave and Marcallee succeed in developing a Clearinghouse Power of Attorney or the "WEDI Accord on TPAs" - if only to prove my good friend, Kepa Zubeldia, wrong for once in his life! At Chris Feahr's prompting, a new project objective was set forth for the group to evaluate; I proposed a change to the Project Purpose on 02 March: This project will publish implementation guidelines for (1) an Electronic Trading Partner Agreement (e-TPA) specification to mechanically configure communication and translation software, and (2) automatic "discovery" mechanisms for locating Trading Partners' e-TPAs on the Internet based on their business identifiers. It seems this change would be relatively uncontroversial, in that it simply follows the gist of many of our discussions. It broadens the scope by allowing us to investigate ways not only of describing EDI addresses and attributes, but also mechanical representations of companion documents, in the formation of electronic Trading Partner Agreements. A "directory" for "discovering" EDI addresses (or going a step further: e-TPAs) has always been implicit in the 6320 document, so it's only proper to explicitly include this requirement in the Project Purpose. This change, and the working documents I proposed we start on, can be discussed tomorrow, Friday March 8, on the WEDi/SNIP ID & Routing teleconference call from 1:30 - 2:30 EST, 703-736-7290, pin #1315331. William J. Kammerer Novannet, LLC. +1 (614) 487-0320 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rachel Foerster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, 06 March, 2002 07:50 PM Subject: RE: Electronic Trading Partner Agreements - 3/5 Conversation with DWT I am concerned that this effort is very much "out of scope" of the original objective of this work group, to wit: (and from Peter Barry's Document #6320 dated 2/26/02) "This project is to define the syntax of a comprehensive, standard EDI address, including attributes......to define the associated code structure. Its deliverable is intended to have technical specificity." I am concerned that focus and attention of this work group will be shifted to an out-of-scope activity and that the original project objective will not be achieved. On the other hand, if it is the consensus of this work group that the original objective is no longer valid, then a new project objective should be set forth for the group to evaluate and agree to. Else, I suggest that any further activities related to this effort either be tabled until the primary objective of the work group is achieved.....or this work effort be transferred to another work group. Rachel Foerster Principal Rachel Foerster & Associates, Ltd. Professionals in EDI & Electronic Commerce 39432 North Avenue Beach Park, IL 60099 Phone: 847-872-8070 Fax: 847-872-6860 http:/www.rfa-edi.com -----Original Message----- From: Dave Minch [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 1:23 PM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: FW: Electronic Trading Partner Agreements - 3/5 Conversation with DWT To all I&A folks: We wanted to let you know that some progress is being made on the trading partner agreement front concerning the legal ramifications of creation of an entirely electronic eTPA. Yesterday William Kammerer, Marcallee Jackson, and I held a conference call with 3 legal types from the law firm of Davis, Wright, Tremaine (DWT), who have volunteered to provide some level of assistance to us pro bono as we wrestle with the non-technical privacy, security, and fraud-potential issues surrounding creation of an automated eTPA. The question posed to the teleconference group was "how can DWT work with our WEDI-SNIP workgroup"? We discussed our plans to move the industry toward an "electronic TPA" rather than (in place of) signed paper agreements. The TPA we have envisioned includes technical communication protocols, security and encryption, and potentially even the "companion guide" type of information - all of that being generally classified as the "technical" business arrangement between the trading parties. Our most pressing concern is: even if we can get all of the nuances of the "technical" business arrangement included within our electronic definition, will there still be overriding legal barriers which will still require each trading partner to negotiate and sign a paper document to comply with the HIPAA regulations. DWT explained how business agreements can be implied under the UCC. As a simple example, when a customer sends an unsolicited order to a supplier, and the supplier fills the order, there is an implied business agreement under the UCC. DWT also indicated that there is now an extension to the UCC which is being adopted in most states that specifically addresses electronic business exchanges. After some discussion, their suggestion was that if we could promote a health care industry-wide accord, that it could act as an anchor point for creation of the compliance portion of the paperless interchange agreement and would embody language which safeguards the participants. Our next steps will be to work with DWT in drafting a "talking paper" over the next 3 weeks which lists some of the key elements that such an accord would have, and how the accord would be used in conjunction with the UCC to satisfy the regulatory needs (privacy/disclosure of PHI). Stay tuned... Dave Minch T&CS Project Manager John Muir / Mt. Diablo Health System Walnut Creek, CA (925) 941-2240
