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Most notifications must be disclosed within 60 days of discovering the breach (although there are exceptions for breaches that affected fewer than 500 people). The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule requires healthcare providers to notify affected patients, Health and Human Services, and sometimes the media if unsecured PHI is breached.
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Hospitals, doctors, clinics, and other healthcare providers that are considered "covered entities" are responsible for complying with HIPAA and HITECH.
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PHI also includes common identifiers like patient name, address, Social Security number, and birthdate.Ĭovered entities include all health organizations that create, receive, or transmit PHI. Protected Health Information (PHI) is individually identifiable information that relates to a patient's medical or psychological condition, provision of medical services, or payments for medical services (past, present, or future).
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