>>I found this about HIPAA security requirements.
>>

>>http://www.netconsystems.com/implement_presentation.htm
>>

>Haven't digested the above article, but what about the reception area which is full of patients floating around - sign-in sheets aren't too practical there.
>
I know. The healthcare environment is pretty loose, at least it probably looks that way to people who don't work in it. My experience is that medical records are kept secret, even from the patient. I can't imagine a healthcare worker showing a patient's chart to a spouse or child or best friend, for example. There is always a court order to access a patient’s record. I’m not sure anything additional is required other than formalizing the procedures and probably documenting them. I think the politicians created a law with good intentions, as is usually the case, but it could have far reaching (expensive) consequences. For example, when I read your first post, I did some quick calculations using customer data that I just worked with. It was easy to see that I might have to build a data structure in addition to my core application just to manage those things you proposed. A FoxPro file would not hold the data that would accumulate in one year (2 gigs). How long do you have to keep that information? 5 years at least? Of course, data needs reports and a way to access the information. Like you, I mainly work to someone else’s requirements. If they require something in the computer database, I guess it will create more work, like I had any time for more work.