Governance & Risk Management , Privacy

Navigating State Data Privacy Laws

As more states continue to roll out their own health data-related privacy laws that do not fall under the federal regulatory umbrella of HIPAA, it is becoming more challenging for organizations to navigate the regulations, says privacy attorney Sheila Sokolowski of law firm Hintze Law PLLC.

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"What we have in the U.S. is a patchwork quilt of privacy laws for dealing with things that fall outside sectorial laws like HIPAA," she says. "Hopefully this action on the part of the states will drive some federal legislation that will simplify things for companies out there. But so far, that hasn't happened, and that's the biggest issue we're facing."

In a video interview with Information Security Media Group as part of its RSA Conference 2021 coverage, Sokolowski also discusses:

• Privacy concerns involving COVID-19 contact-tracing applications and so-called vaccination passports;
• The Department of Health and Human Services' proposed changes to the HIPAA privacy rule;
• Other critical privacy issues facing healthcare and biotech sector organizations in the months ahead.

Sokolowski is a partner at Hintze Law PLLC, where she is also chair of the firm’s Health and Biotech Privacy Group. Sokolowski advises clients on data privacy and security risk mitigation and management strategies, including data breach and security incident responses. She collaborates with in-house legal and technical professionals to develop scalable, risk-based legal compliance solutions for data privacy and security.