The Health Information Technology for Economics and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was enacted on February 18, 2009. It promotes the safe and meaningful use of health information technology. It addresses the privacy and security issues associated with the electronic transmission of PHI and enacts civil and criminal enforcement of HIPAA regulations. It proposed:
- Four levels of violation penalties, with increasing penalties per increasing neglect
- A maximum violation penalty of $1.5 million USD for all violations of the same kind
- Increased business associate liability
- The Breach Notification Rule, which outlines a response to unauthorized PHI disclosure
