Consumers will ultimately win through HIPAA rules.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Ask the leaders of the nation's health care industry -- physicians, hospital CFOs and insurance executives -- and most agree there is a need to simplify and streamline the industry and to protect the privacy of individual medical records.

But a critical question remains unanswered: Can the industry implement the sweeping changes called for in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) without significant service reductions and shortterm increases in costs for consumers?

How big is the challenge?Just imagine retooling by Oct. 16, 2002, every computer for every hospital, doctor, dentist, health insurer, medical professional and state Medicaid and Medicare office that conducts …