Under the HITECH Act of 2009, the privacy protections of HIPAA were strengthened and significantly expanded.
<h3>What was the HITECH Act of 2009?</h3>
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was signed into law on February 17, 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Its purpose is to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology.
The HITECH Act of 2009 broadened the scope of privacy and security safeguards available through HIPAA compliance by increasing the potential legal liability for noncompliance and mandating more stringent enforcement.
The HITECH Act transformed how many healthcare facilities generate, use, share, and maintain healthcare data.
According to a 2016 report to Congress by the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, it improved patient safety and resulted in better patient outcomes.
Therefore, under the HITECH Act of 2009, the privacy protections of HIPAA were strengthened and significantly expanded.
