DHHS publication ; no. (PHS)

The public health and health services research communities need to have a voice at the table in the development of national health data standards. This is the driving force behind the Public Health Data Standards Consortium (PHDSC). The creation in 1999 of the Public Health Data Standards Consortium, hereafter referred to as the Consortium, was a natural outgrowth of the enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Administrative Simplification Provisions. The Consortium was established in response to recommendations from a 1998 workshop that explored the implications of HIPAA-Administrative Simplification (AS) for the practice of public health and health ser\uad vices research. Fundamentally, the HIPAA-AS provisions reduce the cost and administra\uad tive burdens of health care by allowing standardized, electronic transmission of many ad\uad ministrative and financial transaction standards. They also encourage standardization of electronic patient medical records and provide an impetus for more comparable and secure data across the spectrum of health and health care.HIPAA-AS is focused on the interchange of data among health insurers and providers including public health providers who seek reimbursement. Although HIPAA-AS standards are not mandated for many other public health related data transactions, many are moving toward policies consistent with HIPAA\u2019s mandate, recognizing that administrative simplifi\uad cation provisions will strengthen public health capabilities. Data standards are not only nec\uad essary to support the interface with the private sector; they are also critical to support the flow of information across public health programs and levels of Government.200