Even with all the rules and safe guards supposedly in place to protect patients medical privacy, compliance is actually declining.

The association surveyed 1,117 hospitals and health systems, asking officials at the facilities about compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules. Although 91 percent said in 2005 that they were mostly compliant, that number dropped to 85 percent this year.

“A slight drop in the number of facilities reporting themselves to be fully or mostly compliant with HIPAA should serve as a warning to the industry that compliance should not be taken for granted,” AHIMA President Jill Callahan Dennis said in a written statement.

Source: Government Health