A Study of HIPAA and the Possibility of its Implementation in Iran

• Health care is considered as one of the basic needs of human societies. Health insurance is the most appropriate option for all individuals to enjoy equal health care. However, today, different types of health insurance are facing with various problems which need to be solved through new laws. Therefore, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was approved to solve problems in the US health insurance system. We decided to study HIPAA and the possibility of its implementation in Iran in order to solve the problems of Iranian health insurance system.• In this descriptive exploratory research, data was collected by reviewing reliable sources and referring to health insurance organizations and universities of medical sciences in Tehran, Iran during 2009. Using a questionnaire, 24 academic and health insurance management experts were asked about the possibility of applying HIPAA in Iran. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were determined by content validity and test-retest method (r = 0.84).• Based on our results, increased health care costs, lack of continuous health insurance coverage and too much bureaucracy were the most important problems of the American health insurance system. In addition, 66.66% of the studied health insurance experts identified increased costs as the first factor in the reform in the Iranian health care system. A total of 83.33% of the experts agreed with the health insurance system reform in Iran.• HIPAA includes important approaches to solve the problems in the American health insurance. Considering the similarity of the problems in American and Iranian health insurance systems, experts agreed with the need for electronic data interchange, creating a national identification in the health care industry, and implementation of a comprehensive information system to coordinate the insurance system.