HIPPA and HITECH

Today's conversation is about HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health), which are federal regulations designed to protect Protected Health Information (PHI), which is any information that can identify a patient and link back to them. These regulations mandate the standardization of electronic data exchange within the healthcare industry, establish national standards to protect the privacy of PHI, and impose penalties for non-compliance and breaches, which can range from civil to criminal penalties. The source also describes the impact of HIPAA and HITECH on pharmacy technicians, requiring them to adhere to stringent privacy and security standards, minimize PHI disclosure, and report any suspected privacy or security breaches.