What Is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a law enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996 to protect individuals covered by health insurance and establish standards for the storage and privacy of personal medical data. Since its enactment, HIPAA has been modified to include processes for safely storing and sharing patient medical information electronically, and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) broadened HIPAA privacy and security protections. In the future, updated federal laws are likely to address the privacy risks associated with digital healthcare data and may use HIPAA's framework as a model to govern the digital sector. Noncompliance with HIPAA standards and best practices is against the law, and companies tracking consumer data are currently subject to supervision by regulating bodies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
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