What is HITECH and how did it affect regulations regarding protected health information?

HITECH was passed in 2009 as Title XIII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In addition to implementing the electronic health record incentive program, HITECH amended the HIPAA privacy and security rules by introducing additional privacy regulations, breach notification rules, and stiffer penalties for security violations. HITECH, along with the Genetic In-formation Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), were intended to clarify the information protected under the HIPAA Privacy Rule and to prohibit most providers and health plans from inappropriately disclosing information for non-medical purposes. It required that entities utilizing EHRs to provide patients with an electronic copy of their protected health information upon request.