HIPAA Compliant Answering Service - April 14, 2003, compliance deadline for the new Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") governing the privacy of individually identifiable health information ("Privacy Rules") has arrived.

The HIPAA subcommittee of the Association of TeleServices, International ("ATSI"), our national trade association, has reviewed all aspects, impact and responsibilities that affect our industry as they pertain to HIPAA/HHS guidelines and the Privacy Rules. ATSI has contracted with a HIPAA consulting firm, Healthcare Technology Consulting, to provide our industry with a Business Associate Agreement that defines our industry's abilities and limitations yet provides the Covered Entity with the "necessary and reasonable assurances" required for HIPAA compliance. We understand that as a "Business Associate" we must provide you with "satisfactory assurances" that we "will use the information only for the purposes for which it was engaged by the covered entity," and that we "will safeguard the information from misuse, and help the covered entity comply with some of the covered entities duties under the Privacy Rule."

With the endorsement of the ATSI/HIPAA subcommittee, legal counsel, and the Association's HIPAA consulting firm, we are pleased to provide you with the enclosed Business Associate Agreement, used industrywide, for your review and signature. Rest assured that we take HIPAA compliancy seriously and, as your business associate, have invested in both readying and ensuring that our organization meets all HIPAA requirements.