Texas House Bill 300 (TX HB 300) is a state law passed to further protect the security and privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI) for residents of the State of Texas. TX HB 300 grants additional enforcement authority to state agencies to ensure compliance with the state, adds criteria for the establishment of standards for the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and increases the penalties for wrongful disclosure of PHI.
Who does it affect?
This bill augments HIPAA, requiring that Covered Entities that must comply with HIPAA to follow additional TX HB 300 regulations.
It is important to note that HB 300 widens the definition of a Covered Entity drastically.
HB 300 defines a Covered Entity as "any entity that comes into possession of PHI; or is an employee, agent, or contractor of an entity as described above." Effectively, this expansion of definition extends the term of a covered entity to include business associates, information or computer management service providers, schools, health researchers, governmental units, or even an individual who maintains a website that may store or transmit PHI.
This relieves the burden of accountability for covered entities to ensure that their Business Associates and contractors maintain their compliance by transferring that accountability to those entities directly.
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