Healthcare Attachments: An Automated, Cost-effective, Off-the-shelf, Digital Solution

Existing and proposed government mandated regulations such as:

• The Health Information for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE) Claims Attachment

are creating a greater need to digitally send and receive electronic health records, clinical data, lab results, prepayment eligibility certifications, and other documents. While "Meaningful Use"—the use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology—provides great promise for efficiency and improved clinical outcomes, data is being sent in many formats. Standardizing on one format, such as the HIPAA X12 275 transaction, would help simplify interoperability between parties. While new mandates on the use of attachments and transactional processes are imminent, this paper describes a compliant, compatible, cost-effective solution for speeding and streamlining digital healthcare document transfer.