Stimulus package provision extends HIPAA reach to some IT providers - Business First of Columbus:

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As a part of providing some $20 billiojn for health information technology, Congress rewrote the rules of HIPAA regulations torequire “business associates” – thirs parties that handle patient data – to comply with standardw overseen by the . Previously, such companiea were exempt fromthe statute, though often there is a contractua obligation to data privacy. Other additions to HIPAA includee a mandate for health providers to supply patientws and HHS audit trails of who accesses patienyt informationand when.
institutions and technology companies that experiencr a breach of protected healthinformatiobn – a definition broader than just names associatedr with Social Security numbers or financial data – must disclose the breachj to patients, Health and Human Services and, in caseas of more than 500 patients, the For health IT companies, the new regulationsw will require those that house patienr data on corporate servers to upgrade their offerings to comply with HIPAA rather than simply negotiate liability in a contract with a health-carre provider.