With the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, business associates became directly liable for certain privacy and security requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).  Business associates are those individuals or entities (other than employees) who perform functions or activities on behalf of, or provide certain services to, covered entities which require access to protected health information (PHI).» Read More

At a Brookings Institution event last month, Eric Hargan, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced that the agency will be issuing proposed rules to revise federal fraud and abuse regulations that are seen as hampering care coordination and the transformation to a value-based health care system.» Read More