I believe you - I've heard nonsense interpretations along those lines in the past, too. But I have a solution. In order for my chiropractor to avoid sanctions and penalties for sending his electronic transaction via his computer fax without using the standard X12 format, he can instead fax it to a heavily capitalized clearinghouse with a large IT staff. Since the clearinghouse can operate as a non-covered entity whenever it damn well pleases, it can print out the fax and mail it to the payer for 35¢ plus postage.
William J. Kammerer Novannet, LLC. Columbus, US-OH 43221-3859 +1 (614) 487-0320 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rachel Foerster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WEDI SNIP Privacy Workgroup List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, 02 February, 2003 02:32 PM Subject: RE: Covered Entity or Not According to CMS, yes, this scenario would constitute an electronic transaction, and thus be subject to HIPAA requirements. This topic was discussed a few weeks ago on another SNIP list (can't recall which one) and HIPAAlive, I think. Zon Owen responded with a message that attempted to bring insight into CMS' thinking about why this would be electronic transactions - something along the lines of this being computer-to-computer and thus electronic. William, you're good with the archives of these lists - I bet you can find the thread in a heartbeat! Don't yell at me....I think this is one of the most ludicrous things amongst myriad HIPAA ludicrous stuff. Rachel Foerster Principal Rachel Foerster & Associates, Ltd. Professionals in Health Care EDI 39432 North Avenue Beach Park, IL 60099 Voice: 847-872-8070 Fax: 847-872-6860 eMail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: William J. Kammerer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, February 02, 2003 11:52 AM To: WEDI SNIP Privacy Workgroup List Subject: Re: Covered Entity or Not So, let's say I'm a part-time chiropractor and I have occasion to send in a dozen or so claims a week. I get tired of hand-filling in the HCFA 1500, so I get a Word document template for the form and key data in, perhaps with the aid of a macro. Then I use my Fax software on my laptop to send the image of the Word document to the payer. Does that count as an electronic transaction? Does that now make me a covered entity? Will I now get in trouble, facing onerous fines and penalties? That would be a hoot, considering that Clearinghouses think they can (and undoubtedly will) "dump" claims to paper - even when providers send electronic transactions to them in the first place! The clearinghouse simply says it's not a covered entity for the moment! Where's the justice (or administrative simplification) in all of this? What kind of Bizarro world is this? William J. Kammerer Novannet, LLC. Columbus, US-OH 43221-3859 +1 (614) 487-0320 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rachel Foerster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WEDI SNIP Privacy Workgroup List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, 02 February, 2003 12:10 PM Subject: RE: Covered Entity or Not Fax is considered an electronic transaction by CMS if the document originated as an electronic document in a computer system and is faxed from that computer system. Rachel Foerster Principal Rachel Foerster & Associates, Ltd. Professionals in Health Care EDI 39432 North Avenue Beach Park, IL 60099 Voice: 847-872-8070 Fax: 847-872-6860 eMail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.rfa-edi.com -----Original Message----- From: Noel Chang [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, February 01, 2003 8:19 PM To: WEDI SNIP Privacy Workgroup List Subject: Re: Covered Entity or Not Charles, The definition of a "covered entity" entails more than just filing electronic claims. There are several "covered transactions" and if you conduct any of them electronically then you are a CE and must comply with HIPAA. For a complete list of "covered transactions" refer to the Transaction and Code Set Standards. I would also note that the definition of conducting a transaction "electronically" is often debated. I know HHS has indicated in the preamble to the Privacy Rule that a fax does not count as electronic transmission. Noel Chang -- Open WebMail Project (http://openwebmail.org) ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WEDI SNIP Privacy Workgroup List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, 31 January, 2003 10:57 AM Subject: Covered Entity or Not At a meeting yesterday of our parent organization's privacy officers we had a discussion I'd appreciate some feedback on. One of the organizations is a long-term care/retirement facility that indicated they do not "bill" electronically. Therefore they are not a covered entity. However, after further discussion they indicated they do in fact send via fax and/or email individual identifiable health information to other covered entities (ie hospitals, referral agencies, and referring agencies). Some contended because they did not use EDI, they didn't really need to comply, others indicated they were because they do send PHI via electronic media. Can anyone provide an insight? Thanks. Charles. ******************************** Charles R. Carnahan, M.Div., M.B.A. Chief Operating Officer CAB Health and Recovery Services, Inc. 111 Middleton Road Danvers, MA 01923 Phone: 978-739-7600 FAX: 978-750-3620 www.cabhealth.org --- The WEDI SNIP listserv to which you are subscribed is not moderated. The discussions on this listserv therefore represent the views of the individual participants, and do not necessarily represent the views of the WEDI Board of Directors nor WEDI SNIP. If you wish to receive an official opinion, post your question to the WEDI SNIP Issues Database at http://snip.wedi.org/tracking/. These listservs should not be used for commercial marketing purposes or discussion of specific vendor products and services. They also are not intended to be used as a forum for personal disagreements or unprofessional communication at any time. 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