AMNews: Aug. 11, 2003. Don't fear HIPAA police if rules deadline is missed ... American Medical News: "Proof of good faith
If you are not compliant with HIPAA's electronic transactions standards by Oct. 16 and someone files a complaint against your office, you need to be able to show that you have been making a good-faith effort to comply. Here are some of the activities CMS officials are likely to take as a good-faith effort:
You are steadily increasing testing between your office and trading partners, such as insurers or claims clearinghouses.
You tried to start testing before the deadline, but your trading partner was not ready or refused requests to do so.
You have a written action plan for achieving compliance.
You have clearly documented your efforts as well as any obstacles you have faced."
