From now through November, HIPAA.com is providing a run through of HIPAA transaction & code set, privacy, and security definitions, along with relevant HITECH Act definitions pertaining to breach notification and securing of protected health information. These definitions are key to understanding the referenced HIPAA and HITECH Act enabling regulations that are effective now and that will require compliance by covered entities and business associates now or in the months ahead, as indicated in HIPAA.com’s timeline. Each posting will contain three definitions, with a date reference to the Federal Register and citation to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). We begin the first series of postings with definitions from “Health Insurance Reform; Modifications to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); Final Rules,” Federal Register, January 16, 2009. 45 CFR 162, Administrative Requirements: 162.103, Definitions.
Format
Those data elements that provide or control the enveloping or hierarchical structure, or assist in identifying data content of, a transaction.
HCPSS
Health [Care Financing Administration] Common Procedure Coding System.[1]
Maintain or Maintenance
Activities necessary to support the use of a standard adopted by the Secretary [of HHS], including technical corrections to an implementation specification, and enhancements or expansion of a code set. This term excludes the activities related to the adoption of a new standard or implementation specification, or modification to an adopted standard or implementation specification.
[1] Health Care Financing Administration, or HCFA, was the predecessor name for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS.