January 28, 2013. Today, we want to explore the modified definition of breach in the Final HIPAA/HITECH Act Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rule published in the Federal Register on Friday, January 25, 2013. Here is the modified definition [45 CFR 164.402, Definitions, effective March 26, 2013; 78 Federal Register 5695]: Breach means the acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of protected health information in a manner not permitted under subpart E [HIPAA Privacy Rule] of this part [Part 164] which compromises the security or privacy of the protected health information. (1) Breach excludes: (i) Any unintentional acquisition, access, or use of protected health information by a workforce member or…
Tag: re-identification
HIPAA ‘Protected Health Information’: What Does PHI Include?
HIPAA.com has received from its readers requests for information on topics related to HIPAA Administrative Simplification Privacy and Security Rules and to updates to those rules reflected in the HITECH Act provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed by President Obama on February 17, 2009. Of particular interest to readers is: what exactly is protected health information (PHI)? Protected Health Information To get to protected health information, you have to examine two definitions that were in Section 1171 of Part C of Subtitle F of Public Law 104-191 (August 21, 1996): Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996: Administrative Simplification. These statutory definitions are of…