July 9, 1997 Public Forum: Progress Toward Administrative Simplification

On July 9, 1997, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sponsored a public forum to discuss progress toward adoption of health data standards as required by the Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The meeting, which was held at the Natcher Center at the National Institutes of Health, was open to interested and affected parties and the general public, and questions from attendees followed each presentation. More than 175 individuals representing all parts of the health care industry and the public at large attended.

Representatives from HHS' Committee on Health Data Standards and Health Data Standards Implementation Teams described the HIPAA requirements for health data standards and provided an overview of HHS' current efforts to implement the law. The advisory role of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics also was described.

Representatives from each of the six HHS Implementation Teams offered presentations on their progress to date and their current thinking on recommendations for the standards. Each presentation was followed by questions from the public.

The meeting was broadcast live on the Internet, with the help of the Department of Veterans Affairs. On-line, live access to the presentation materials accompanied the audio broadcast.

Access to Meeting Materials

For individuals who could not attend or access the meeting on July 9, we provide access to:

• the final agenda, with full transcripts of the presentations, questions from the floor, and answers; and
• the presentation materials in three formats:

1. In rich text format, which can be read by most word processing software.
2. As a PowerPoint version 4.0 presentation, which can be downloaded and used by those needing to explain the Administrative Simplification requirements and process to others.
3. On the Internet, where the meeting agenda is linked to the presentation materials and to audio recordings of the presentations.

Last updated 7/29/97.