An important part of being HIPAA-compliant is adhering to provisions laid out by the HITECH Act of 2009. HITECH is an act that was created under HIPAA and expands upon the various protections required to be HIPAA compliant. Here’s what you need to know about the HITECH Act and how it impacts your medical practice:
- HITECH deals primarily with electronic protected health information, commonly referred to as ePHI.
- ITECH was created to protect the enormous amount of electronic medical records being created and exchanged in today’s healthcare industry.
- The protections and securities available under HIPAA have been significantly expanded under the HITECH Act.
- HITECH serves as an enforcing agent for HIPAA , and increases the penalties for non-compliance.
- In order to be HITECH compliant, your practice must not violate a variety of civil and criminal provisions as laid out in the HITECH Act.
Violation of these provisions, all of which strive to protect the privacy of electronic medical records, can result in fines of up to $1.5 million and 10 years in jail. To make sure your medical practice is in compliance with the HITECH Act, visit the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services website.
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