Privacy breach rules require practices to report only harm done

Health care organizations can self-assess whether a technology snafu needs to be disclosed.

Physicians won’t have to notify patients of every breach of privacy regarding their records, under a rule finalized by the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

A provision in the Breach Notification for Unsecured Protected Health Information rule allows health care organizations to self-assess the level of potential harm when a breach occurs and determine whether notification is warranted. Originally the rule indicated physicians and hospitals would have to notify patients of any kind of privacy breach, regardless of whether it caused harm.

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