eWeek reports on updates to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that could make IT companies more liable for health data breaches. The final omnibus rule holds business associates accountable for privacy and security standards to the same degree as hospitals and health insurance providers. One expert said the new rules will be a wake-up call. “The majority of business associates now are probably not meeting the letter of the law in terms of their security obligations,” he said. Meanwhile, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine have announced a health data breach affecting 57,000 patients after a laptop was stolen from a physician’s car.
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