Legislative efforts in health care often build on one another. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 2009 is a prime example of how one piece of legislation further clarifies a previous one. HITECH enhances many of the security and privacy provisions of the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, privacy and security are not the only concerns of health information technology policy. HITECH incentivizes the adoption of electronic health record systems and outlines standards for meaningful use. Though laws like HITECH and HIPAA are on the books, to what extent do they actually impact the quality of patient care?
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