The Undergraduate Law Review at UC San Diego

In the 21st-century digital age, health data privacy remains a crucial concern. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA. More specifically, it demonstrates a need for a unified federal framework in the U.S. that aligns with General Data Protection Regulation’s protections to address modern-day cybersecurity threats better. This article argues that in an era of increased globalization, the United States should confront the task of reforming its healthcare data protection law to align with current cybersecurity risks. 

We begin by examining landmark legislation across American states to reveal inconsistencies between state and federal protective rulings. Later, we uncover the reactive nature of HIPAA, in contrast to GDPR’s proactive and citizen-centric approach. Through evaluating past lawsuits related to patient protection noncompliance, this paper depicts significant differences in the purpose, coverage, and execution of data protection laws between the United States and the European Union. It highlights GDPR’s effectiveness in granting individuals greater control over their data. Furthermore, this article proposes the adoption of newfound systems for standardized risk analysis and enhanced security across healthcare providers.

As healthcare becomes more accessible to the American public, the amount of data in this system increases. This nationwide surge in data underscores the critical need to assess whether privacy laws established in the 1990s remain sufficient. Therefore, updates to healthcare legislation are essential to establishing stringent patient protections in response to the significant rise in data breach incidents within the healthcare network.