Compliance with the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires companies that work with protected health information (PHI) to implement and follow physical, network, and process security measures.

Business Associates (BAs) are also bound by HIPAA. BAs are third parties accessing patient information to provide treatment, payment, or operations services on behalf of a HIPAA-bound entity. Examples of Business Associates include a freelance medical transcriptionist, a hospital utilization review consultant, and a third-party healthcare insurance claims processor.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is a Canadian law that received Royal Assent on April 13, 2000, and came into force in stages, starting January 1, 2001. The law was fully enacted on January 1, 2004. 

PIPEDA enables Canadian businesses to compete in the global digital economy while alleviating concerns about consumer privacy. The law must be reviewed every five years to ensure effective legislation and outcomes such as protecting personal information.

Personal information is any subjective or factual information about an identifiable individual. It contains elements like:

• Personal health information (PHI)

• Employment details and files

• Credit and loan records

• Subjective information like evaluations and disciplinary actions

• Direct identifiers such as name, age, and ID numbers