At a time when privacy protection and data security are key, legislations such as the U.S. HIPAA and the European GDPR are essential for organizations handling sensitive health data. While both regulations focus on protecting personal data, they differ in scope, terminology, responsibilities and penalties. In this blog, we dive into the key similarities as well as differences between HIPAA and the AVG.
What is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a 1996 U.S. federal law. HIPAA is designed to protect sensitive patient medical information and imposes obligations on health care providers, health insurance companies and their service providers in the U.S.
Key focus points:
- Protecting Protected Health Information (PHI).
- Focuses primarily on the healthcare industry.
- Applicable to covered entities and business associates.
- Emphasis on privacy, security and data breach notification.
What is the GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European legislation that has been in effect since May 2018. The AVG protects all personal data of citizens within the EU and applies to any organization that processes that data – regardless of location.
Key focus points:
- Protection of personal data, including health data.
- Applies to all sectors, not just healthcare.
- Extraterritorial effect: also outside the EU if EU citizens are involved.
- Strong emphasis on consent, transparency and rights of data subjects.
Similarities between HIPAA and the GDPR
| Theme | HIPAA | GDPR |
|---|---|---|
| Data protection | Yes – specific medical data (PHI) | Yes – all personal data, incl. medical |
| Duty to report data breaches | Yes | Yes |
| Security measures | Requires technical and organizational security | Also requires appropriate measures |
| Privacy rights | Limited right of inspection and correction | Expanded rights, such as deletion and objection |
| Sanctions | Civil fines up to max $1.5 million per year | Up to €20 million or 4% of annual sales |
Main differences
1. Scope and coverage.
HIPAA applies only to organizations within the U.S. healthcare industry. The GDPR has a much broader scope and applies to all organizations worldwide that process data of EU citizens.
2. Types of data
HIPAA is limited to health data (PHI), while the GDPR protects a broader category of personal data, including name, IP address, location data, biometrics, etc.
3. Rights of data subjects
The GDPR offers EU citizens much more control over their data: think the right to oblivion, data portability and withdrawal of consent. HIPAA offers these rights in limited form.
4. Consent and processing
Under the GDPR, explicit consent must be obtained for processing special personal data. HIPAA does have rules for consent, but also allows for processing without consent for certain healthcare purposes.
5. Supervisors and enforcement
HIPAA is enforced by the U.S. Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The AVG is enforced by national authorities, such as the Data Protection Authority in Belgium.
Summary
Although HIPAA and the GDPR both focus on data protection, they stem from different legislative frameworks and priorities. HIPAA is specific and operational within the U.S. healthcare domain. The GDPR is broader, more stringent and globally influential. For organizations that operate across borders or process data of both U.S. and European citizens, it is crucial to fully understand and correctly apply both legislations.
