By Ross K. Friedberg and Ophir Stemmer
This year we’ve seen a continuation of the trend toward heightened regulation and enforcement of the privacy and security requirements under the Health Information Portability andAccountability Act (“HIPAA”) and under other state and federal health privacy laws. Although there have not been any significant changes to federal health privacy laws this year, federal enforcement activity continues to be strong.
This post provides a summary of the developments in privacy and security law throughout the past year; discusses the government's shift away from voluntary compliance in favor of enforcement actions; and includes a review of notable enforcement actions, preliminary findings from the HIPAA compliance audits, various Department of Health and Human Services initiatives to promote improved patient access to medical records, and new privacy and security legislation on the state level.