HITECH requires health-care organizations to notify the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the media when a breach involves 500 people or more. This notification is thought to be a deterrent against violating this act.

But there is a loophole in the final version. A health-care organization can determine after whether any breach actually harmed anyone. If not and there is no potential for harm, there is no disclose is required.

Will this mean that disclosures are few and far between? We will have to wait and see when it goes into effect this fall. [full story]

The White House has announced two grant programs for HITECH grants. These grant programs are attempting to bring about universal electronic health care records.

The first grant program is called the Health Information Technology Extension Program. It will fund dozens of Regional Extension Centers across the country for Health Information Technology. They will offer hospitals and doctors technical assistance for EHR systems.

The second grant program will help States to develop policies and procedures to help with the information transfer within and across states. [full story]