CFR > Title 45 - Public Welfare > SUBTITLE A—DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES > SUBCHAPTER C—ADMINISTRATIVE DATA STANDARDS AND RELATED REQUIREMENTS (parts 160 to 165) > PART 164—SECURITY AND PRIVACY > SUBPART C—Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information (§164.302 to §164.318) > 164.306—Security standards: General rules.

164.306—Security standards: General rules.

(a) General requirements. Covered entities must do the following:
(1) Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all electronic protected health information the covered entity creates, receives, maintains, or transmits.
(2) Protect against any reasonably anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of such information.
(3) Protect against any reasonably anticipated uses or disclosures of such information that are not permitted or required under subpart E of this part.
(4) Ensure compliance with this subpart by its workforce.
(b) Flexibility of approach. (1) Covered entities may use any security measures that allow the covered entity to reasonably and appropriately implement the standards and implementation specifications as specified in this subpart.
(2) In deciding which security measures to use, a covered entity must take into account the following factors:
(i) The size, complexity, and capabilities of the covered entity.
(ii) The covered entity's technical infrastructure, hardware, and software security capabilities.
(iii) The costs of security measures.
(iv) The probability and criticality of potential risks to electronic protected health information.
(c) Standards. A covered entity must comply with the standards as provided in this section and in § 164.308, § 164.310, § 164.312, § 164.314, and § 164.316 with respect to all electronic protected health information.
(d) Implementation specifications. In this subpart:
(1) Implementation specifications are required or addressable. If an implementation specification is required, the word “Required” appears in parentheses after the title of the implementation specification. If an implementation specification is addressable, the word “Addressable” appears in parentheses after the title of the implementation specification.
(2) When a standard adopted in § 164.308, § 164.310, § 164.312, § 164.314, or § 164.316 includes required implementation specifications, a covered entity must implement the implementation specifications.
(3) When a standard adopted in § 164.308, § 164.310, § 164.312, § 164.314, or § 164.316 includes addressable implementation specifications, a covered entity must—
(i) Assess whether each implementation specification is a reasonable and appropriate safeguard in its environment, when analyzed with reference to the likely contribution to protecting the entity's electronic protected health information; and
(ii) As applicable to the entity—
(A) Implement the implementation specification if reasonable and appropriate; or
(B) If implementing the implementation specification is not reasonable and appropriate—
$(1) Document why it would not be reasonable and appropriate to implement the implementation specification; and
$(2) Implement an equivalent alternative measure if reasonable and appropriate.
(e) Maintenance. Security measures implemented to comply with standards and implementation specifications adopted under § 164.105 and this subpart must be reviewed and modified as needed to continue provision of reasonable and appropriate protection of electronic protected health information as described at § 164.316.
[68 FR 8376, Feb. 20, 2003; 68 FR 17153, Apr. 8, 2003]