Compliance and risk
HIPAA Security Rule
The HIPAA Security Rule sets national standards for protecting patient health information that is stored or sent in electronic form.
HHS states that the HIPAA Security Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals' electronic protected health information that is created, received, used, or maintained by a covered entity or its business associate. HHS describes the rule as using administrative, physical and technical safeguards.
For a dental office, this covers electronic records and the systems that hold them.
The Security Rule sits within HIPAA. A lost or stolen device can lead to a data breach. Vendors that hold data need a business associate agreement.