Healthcare privacy and data security has become one of the major policy, technology and operations issues in American healthcare. The compliance date for the HIPAA privacy rule of April 14, 2003 looms. Covered entities must comply with the HIPAA transactions and data code sets by October 16, 2003. It is anticipated that the final HIPAA security rule will be issued in early 2003. HIPAA does not preempt more restrictive state law. Thus, in effect, there are 50 state schemes in healthcare privacy and security, subject to certain fed eral minimum standards. This complex mix of federal and state law and regulation creates a maze through which healthcare organizations must navigate. Compliance will be not only complex, but also extremely costly as healthcare moves to electronic data interchange and the Internet.

The HIPAA Summit conference series provides a road map to understanding the complex requirements of federal and state law and illuminates strategies for compliance. Through an expert faculty of over 100 and over 55 concurrent sessions, the Sixth National HIPAA Summit will go well beyond the simple recitation of the federal HIPAA law and regulations. Of course, the Summit will provide the most up-to-date and sophisticated information on the status and construction of the HIPAA regulations through the presentations of the leading HIPAA regulators from the Department of Health and Human Services. Further, the Summit will provide specific and in-depth analysis of the healthcare privacy and security laws of a number of major states.

The Sixth National HIPAA Summit will focus on practical case studies from the field, featuring presentations by leading privacy, security and compliance officers from around the country. Finally, the Summit will address the complex financial, operational and technical issues that must be addressed not only to comply with the technical requirements of the law, but also to integrate new technologies in order to enhance the efficiency, quality and accessibility of healthcare services.

The planning and implementation of HIPAA requires a joint effort of healthcare executives throughout your organization. Therefore, team attendance is encouraged. Specifically, the Summit will benefit healthcare leadership teams from hospi-tals, healthcare systems, health plans, TPAs, insurance com-panies, physician groups, government agencies, consulting firms, solution developers and others, including the following individuals:

• Chief Executive Officers
• Chief Operating Officers
• Chief Technology Officers
• Chief Financial Officers
• Compliance Officers
• Health Law Attorneys
• Medical Directors
• Physicians
• Managed Care Professionals
• Medical Group Managers
• Data Managers
• Ethics Officers
• Health Insurance Executives
• Consultants
• Government Agency Employees
• Health Administration Faculty
• Risk Managers
• Pharmacists
• Quality Assurance Professionals
• Registered Nurses
• Long Term Care Professionals
• Billing and Coding Professionals
• Third Party Billing Professionals
• Software Developers
• System Vendors
• System Integrators

• Provide a Basic Background to the HIPAA Law and Regulations
• Describe and Compare State Approaches to the Regulation of Healthcare Privacy and Data Security
• Articulate Advanced HIPAA Compliance and Risk Management Strategies
• Describe Prominent MultiInstitutional and/or Regional Approaches to HIPAA Compliance
• Assess the Implications of the HIPAA Privacy Regulations to Various Sectors of the Healthcare System
• Share Case Studies of Organizational Approaches to HIPAA Compliance

On Thursday, March 27, the Sixth National HIPAA Summit features a unique half-day plenary session town meeting on regulating healthcare privacy and data security. Leading federal regulators will be available for extensive interaction through comments, questions and answers. Representatives of DHHS will be available for questions, comments and discussion.

Advanced Email Questioning Available: In order to facilitate the most effective and sophisticated level of interaction, advanced questions and comments may be submitted by registrants via email to questions@HIPAASummit.com. Anyone interested in presenting comments, questions, concerns, hypothetical case studies, problems and/or solutions may forward them to the Summit staff at questions@ HIPAASummit.com. The staff will then distribute them in advance to participating federal and state officials and other faculty members for their consideration in preparing their Summit presentations.