Health Information Management

Massachusetts becomes 39th state to enact a security breach notice law

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 24, 2007

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Thanks to the widely varying legal requirements for notification between states, compliance is a challenge for organizations that experience a security breach. In August, Massachusetts became the 39th state to require organizations to provide notice of a security breach. Alaska, Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia are the only states that have no such law.

However, while the majority of states do have laws governing breach notices, the states' requirements vary substantially, which significantly complicates compliance, according to a September 17 article in Mondaq News.

According to the article, states differ in their interpretation of:

  • What constitutes a "trigger event"
  • Whether or not compromised paper records (as opposed to electronic records) require notice
  • What types of personal information needs to be exposed to have the event classified as a breach
  • The timeframe in which the notice must be given

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