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The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act

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The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, as defined by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and was created to reduce health care costs by adoption of electronic medical records. It was officially signed into law on February 17, 2009, and aims to encourage the “adoption and meaningful use of health information technology.” Of particular interest is how it impacts affects the privacy and security rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Act of 1996. According to Subtitle D of HITECH, there are many provisions aimed at strengthening the criminal and civil enforcement, both criminal and civil, of HIPAA rules. The official Enforcement Interim Final Rule of HITECH states that HIPAA’s enforcement regulations must incorporate all HITECH “categories of violations,” which include tiered ranges of monetary penalty amounts, and a revision of limitations allowing for the imposition of penalties. The interim final rule became effective on November 30, 2009. What HIPAA Compliance Requirements did HITECH Make? The Health Resources and Services AdministrationUS Department of Health and Human Services (HRSA) says that HITECH “expanded the scope of the privacy and security provisions of the HIPAA and its enabling regulations.” All of the changes can be found in the lengthy Enforcement Interim Final Rule of HITECH, but the HRSA highlights some of the

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