Oh, just when you thought HIPAA couldn't get any more complicated, along comes HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ), which amends notification procedures when a breach has occurred in protected health information.
The Health and Human Services Department recently released guidance on what counts as "unsecured" information -- if it is not secured through the application of a technology or methodology that renders it unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals and that meets standards specified in guidance published by the government, according to law firm
Complying with a 60-day statutory deadline for issuing that guidance,