The Florida legislature passed an update to the Florida Electronic Health Records Exchange Act banning healthcare organizations using certified health record technology from storing EHR data outside the continental U.S., its territories and Canada, The HIPAA Journal reported June 2.
The ban also impacts vendors and third parties. Healthcare organizations in Florida have until July 1 to comply with the law.
Providers are recommended to conduct an audit to ensure they are complying with the new standards.
"Certified electronic health record technology" is defined as "a qualified electronic health record" that meets certain standards under the Public Health Service Act. Examples cited in the report include "an ambulatory electronic health record for office-based physicians or an inpatient hospital electronic health record for hospitals."