Law Students

Tthe subtitle of Part III is: "Attacking the HIPAA Security Rule: Hug the Monster." We are using military metaphors because the Security Rule presents a completely different challenge than the Privacy Rule. It appears at first glance (and second, third, fourth glances as well) as a "military like" specification for cyber security. We would not be surprised if in fact that was where the substance of the rule originated.

There has not been much attention paid to the Security Rule for several reasons: 1) few providers have implemented EHRs; and 2) the previous HIPAA enforcement regime was essentially a paper tiger. The HITECH Act changes all that, providers now have very little choice other than to "hug the monster." The latter is a military term that means (more or less) when your survival is literally on the line you have to confront and acknowledge this reality before you can take meaningful steps to deal with it.

The Security Rule is so complex and daunting that we have decided to dedicate two featured articles to it in order to adequately provide the necessary foundation. There is likely no more significant public policy issue regarding the success of the proposed U.S. National Health Information Infrastructure than protecting the privacy and the security of the data contained within it.

This issue introduces the concept of a number of organizational frameworks that will be required in order to effectively cope with your EHR/HITECH/HIPAA initiatives. The framework concept was first introduced in this podcast that we did in collaboration with the World Health Congress.

We hope to add more multimedia content going forward. We understand that individuals vary in the manner by which they process and assimilate information. Often, the most clarity comes from seeing material presented via alternative forms.

We like to use "mind maps" for this reason, but also want to experiment with other tools. The HITECH Act and the HIPAA regulations are challenging, not only to understand, but to apply effectively. The HIPAA Security Rule is perhaps the canonical example of the complexity involved.

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