The Department of Health and Human Services on Feb. 20 published the long-awaited final rule on security standards to safeguard the “confidentiality, integrity and availability” of electronic information used in the health care industry. As part of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the 289-page rule requires public and private health plans, including Medicaid and Medicare, health care clearinghouses, and providers to implement administrative, physical and technical security mechanisms to protect private patient data. The security rule will work with the privacy rule adopted by HHS last year. Many health providers and entities must comply with the privacy standards by April 14. Full Story