New HIPAA Rule: Standards for Health Care Claims Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures

The final rule adds definitions for the term “attachment information” (documentation that enables the health plan to make a decision about health care that is not included in a health care claims or equivalent encounter information transaction) and “electronic signature” (an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to, or logically associated with attachment information and executed by a person with the intent to sign the attachment information), and adopts specific standards for claims attachment-related transactions to enable the secure electronic exchange of documentation to support claims processing. The final rule also adopts standards for electronic signatures used in connection with health care claims attachments transactions in order to authenticate the identity of the sender and ensure the integrity and security of electronically-transmitted documentation.