HITECH

HITECH is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) legislation created in 2009

• It was created to stimulate or promote the meaningful use and adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and supporting technology in the United States
• President Obama signed HITECH into law on Feb. 17, 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) economic stimulus bill.  Read our article about ARRA here.
• HITECH widens the scope of privacy and security protections available under HIPAA; it increases the potential legal liability for non-compliance; and it provides for more enforcement.