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Stimulus Act Provision Will Increase HIPAA Compliance Penalties

New HITECH regulations include renewed focus on HIPAA compliance
The Stimulus Bill Includes Increases In Fines for HIPAA Privacy Breaches
Stimulus Bill Includes Increases In Fines for HIPAA Privacy Breaches

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

  • Updates on Regulatory topics affecting data security laws.
  • HIPAA privacy rule summary
  • NIST special publication 800-88 media sanitization guidelines
 It appears that some elements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are having a positive affect on the economy. However, less prominent components of the massive legislative package may have greater longer-term impact on companies that manage and store private data. One such regulation is the HITECH Act, otherwise known as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. This $19.7 Billion is intended to

HITECH is expected to not only expand the definition and enforcement of HIPAA compliance, it will also broaden the spectrum of what companies must comply.

In general, the new Act imposes notification requirements on covered entities, business associates, vendors of personal health records (PHR) and related entities in the event of certain security breaches relating to protected health information (PHI). On a finacial level, civil penalties for HIPAA violations have increased signifiantly, up to $1.5 million a year. In addition, unwarranted disclosure of personal health information (PHI) could result in criminal prosecution and potential jail time. A security breach that results in PHI being compromised must now be disclosed, and each effected individual must be notified. If more than 500 users are impacted, the event must be reported to the Dept of HHS.

Read more about HITECH fines and penalties here.