On Jan. 17, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its long-awaited, final Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rule, which significantly expands certain HIPAA obligations for covered entities and their business associates. HIPAA is the federal statute that governs the confidentiality and protection of a patient's protected health information.

The final rule, which was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 25, expands HIPAA obligations for business associates and their subcontractors, revises the requirements regarding the use and disclosure of patient information, expands patient rights, clarifies the content of the Notice of Privacy Practices to be provided by health care providers, modifies the breach notification requirements, and expands enforcement provisions and penalties. Covered entities and business associates have until Sept. 23 (and in limited circumstances with respect to amending business associate agreements, until Sept. 23, 2014) to achieve compliance with the new provisions contained in the final rule.

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