I know you’ve all been waiting with bated breath (or abated breath for you English majors) to hear how my HIPAA remediation went. Hey, thanks for asking! Well, I’m alive and made it through. From this day on, we can get our asses sued off for any mistakes I made. Awesome. I’ve been going at this since August and the fruits of my department’s labor came in the form of three 2″-thick binders full of information nobody will ever look at again unless said asses are being sued. But it’s over. This Phase at least. I start the next phase on Monday. Yippee…

This commencement got me reflecting on the first time I had to do a HIPAA remediation - it was for the privacy law. I use the term commencement because it’s the beginning of a new way of life for healthcare - now I must report anything I think may get our butts in a sling whereas before I could have just swept it under the rug and pretended it never happened (not that I’d DO that). During my first remediation at a related company, I can honestly say that I just didn’t give a crap. I was so far gone from that job that I didn’t really care if we were compliant or not. This was after I decided to move to Colorado and 6 months before I actually left, but it’s amazing how a change of scenery and a competent, caring administrative staff can keep you going. I just wanted to get the project completed back then and this time I actually cared about my work. About not letting down my co-workers and administration. About taking pride in my work. Is this maturity? Yeah, right. I still use cardboard boxes for furniture.

I feel this is more a reflection of my state of being than my state of mind. I guess you could argue they are the same concept, but I’m just happier in this role than I have been in any others. Is it because I’ve moved? Maybe. Definitely. But I’ve also found a great bunch of people at work and I take pride in what I do now. I’ve never felt pressure like this since I was in High School trying to get into college. It’s more self-pressure than an external force pushing me to do well. It actually feels good. Looking back on this paragraph now, it’s probably both.

The next phase isn’t as intensive as this past one so now I can go back to enjoying Colorado and my weekends. It seemed that the sun was particularly bright today and the sky was a deeper blue than it has been over the last 8 months. Maybe it’s time to buy a bike.

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