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BNA Health Law Reporter Guest Article: Stringent New Health Privacy Legislation Enacted in Texas Will Present Difficult Implementation Challenges and Increased Enforcement Activity
08/04/2011

Citing concerns that federal law does not adequately protect patient privacy, Texas recently enacted stringent new health privacy legislation that extends patient protections beyond those contained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Under the preemption provision in HIPAA, the stricter Texas law will apply to HIPAA covered entities doing business in the state. Other individuals and organizations that possess protected health information (PHI) also will fall under the broader Texas definition of "covered entity" and will be subject to these strict new privacy standards. The new law, H.B. 300, effective Sept. 1, 2012, is designed to better ensure the security and privacy of PHI that is exchanged via electronic means. The law also grants new enforcement authority to a variety of state agencies, establishes standards for the use of electronic health records, and increases penalties for the wrongful electronic disclosure of PHI, including creating a new felony for wrongfully accessing or reading of EHR via electronic means.

Excerpt from BNA's Health Law Reporter, August 4, 2011. To view the full article, click the PDF linked below.

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