Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 or the HIPAA, those who wrongfully disclose individually identifiable health information can be fined up to $50,000 for each violation up to a maximum of $1.5 million per calendar year and sentenced up to 10 years imprisonment. Healthcare companies must safeguard secure healthcare information and implement policies and regulations to safeguard it, whether it is in paper or electronic format.
