As required by the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced the rollout of a new audit initiative to assess compliance across the nation with the privacy and security standards for protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, including the breach notification rules in the HITECH Act.
All “covered entities” under HIPAA — including health care providers and group health plans of all sizes — must take notice of this development in HIPAA enforcement and take immediate steps in preparation for the possibility of an audit as well as the possibility of penalties for serious failures to implement the required compliance protocols.
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