HIPAA compliance in U.S. hospitals: a self-report of progress toward the security rule

In January 2004, a random sampling of 1,000 U.S. hospitals was surveyed by researchers at a midwestern university to determine perceived level of compliance with the security requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Exactly one year later, a follow-up survey was sent to the 286 respondents of the 2004 survey, yielding a 50 percent return rate (n = 144). There was an overall trend in increased HIPAA security compliance from 2004 to 2005. There was no significant difference in perceived level of compliance based on the size of the hospital for the majority of security standards.