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IBM and Microsoft Corp. last week announced new technologies to help organizations prepare to meet the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
IBM, of Armonk, N.Y., unveiled its WebSphere Business Integration for HIPAA software, which focuses on the integration of health-care-related business processes.
HIPAA regulations call for companies to protect the privacy of individuals when moving, accessing or sharing data and transactions related to the health care business.
When delivered later this quarter, WebSphere Business Integration for HIPAA, the centerpiece of IBMs HIPAA Readiness Solution portfolio for health care and insurance companies, will feature actual HIPAA content, such as templates for processing transactions. In addition, the product will translate HIPAA-based EDI (electronic data interchange) transactions into legacy application formats, IBM officials said.
Meanwhile, at the National HIPAA Summit in Baltimore last week, Microsoft announced BizTalk Accelerator for HIPAA 2.0, an integration tool aimed at helping organizations comply with HIPAA regulations and lower the cost of handling HIPAA claims and transactions.
Like IBMs offering, Microsofts BizTalk Accelerator for HIPAA features ready-made templates for handling HIPAA claims and a Trading Partner Manager for dealing with part-ners. Microsofts product reduces cost delays and the administrative work that accompanies the clinical documentation inherent in claims for payments, said officials with the Redmond, Wash., company.
The software works by translating HIPAA-based EDI data into XML for processing.