HITECH Alters HIPAA
By now, most of us have heard a few of the details in the economic stimulus package signed by the president Feb. 17. You'll have $13 extra
stuffed in your paychecks each week starting April Fool's Day, and money will go toward green initiatives. Did you know that the stimulus will also affect HIPAA?
The Wisconsin Technology Network offers up a nice rundown of how the HITECH Act will alter the provisions of HIPAA. We're working on an article for an upcoming issue on the stimulus package's affect on the HIT/HIM realm, but the above site provides an early peek into how HIPAA will be impacted. Of note, patients affected by carelessness with protected health information will receive a percentage of the penalties.
Another notable change is that business associates will be subject to civil and criminal liability under HIPAA. I wrote about the role of business associates in HIPAA in this article. Hopefully, these new additions to HIPAA will help prevent cases like the one involving Lubna Baloch from happening in the future.