Tuesday
Feb092010
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND CLOUD COMPUTING
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 7:33AM The U.S. government has significantly embraced cloud computing. The $19 Billion allocated for the health care industry under the Stimulus Plan demonstrates significance of the government's comittment to cloud computing. The implications and opportunities that are available for large and small businesses are staggering. However, there are many legal issues that have not fully been explored in application.
Aneesh Chopra, Federal CTO Discusses Cloud Computing
Reader Comments (1)
What Mr. Chopra did not talk about is the "stick" for non-compliance.
Previously, there was no affirmative government enforcement of the HIPAA patient-privacy and security requirements. Under the old law fines were limited to $100 per incident, with a maximum annual total of $25,000 for violations of the same requirement. Under the new law, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act" – or "HITECH Act, civil money penalties increased to as much as $50,000 per violation, up to $1.5 million per year.
Under old law patient whose private information was compromised could not get monetary compensation. After August 2012 individuals who have had their private information compromised may share in penalties collected.
State attorney generals can now bring civil actions to enforce HIPAA. The Connecticut attorney general has filed the first case against a health care provider that lost a non-encrypted external hard drive that had personal information if 1.5 million past and present patients.