Both the federal and state governments have promulgated new laws
designed to ensure that companies are taking serious steps to
protect the privacy of personal data. In particular, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services published the final omnibus
rule amending the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (HIPAA) on January 25, 2013, introducing significant revisions
to healthcare privacy law. These changes were mandated by the
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health
(HITECH) Act.
As a consequence of the new rule, HIPAA's privacy
regulations will be extended to cover not only healthcare
providers, plans, and clearinghouses but also a host of vendors
that provide services to the healthcare industry (known as
"business associates"), including technology companies
that provide data analysis, claims processing or administration,
and other support services. Such business associates will be
required to come into compliance with
