You may have heard about the "Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act” (or HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule) and its impact on physician practices. The HITECH law is significant to physician offices because it comprehensively affects HIPAA rules on privacy, security, breach notification, and enforcement.
The federal government has adopted new HIPAA Privacy and Security regulations implementing the HITECH Act. These regulations, referred to as the "Omnibus Final Rule,” expand the obligations of health care providers and their business associates to protect patient health information. The rule has a compliance date of September 23, 2013; however, certain provisions allow covered entities and their business associates an additional year to September 22, 2014, to amend existing contracts (see the section below on Business Associate Agreements).
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