GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) are two distinct regulations aimed at protecting personal data, but they apply to different domains and have unique scopes.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
- Jurisdiction: Applies to the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). It also applies globally if a company processes the personal data of EU residents.
- Purpose: Protects the privacy and personal data of individuals within the EU.
- Scope:
- Covers all personal data, such as name, address, email, IP address, and more sensitive information like genetic or biometric data.
- Enforces strict rules on data collection, processing, storage, and sharing.
- Grants rights to individuals, such as the right to access, correct, and delete their data (the “right to be forgotten”).
- Penalties: Non-compliance can lead to fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
- Jurisdiction: Applies in the United States.
- Purpose: Protects sensitive health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.
- Scope:
- Covers Protected Health Information (PHI), such as medical records, health insurance information, and any data that can identify an individual in a healthcare context.
- Regulates healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and business associates of these entities.
- Emphasizes data security through the HIPAA Privacy Rule and Security Rule.
- Penalties: Violations can lead to fines ranging from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with an annual cap of $1.5 million for repeat violations.
Key Differences
FeatureGDPRHIPAARegionEU/EEA and global applicabilityUnited StatesFocus AreaGeneral personal data privacyHealthcare data privacyApplicable ToAny organization handling EU personal dataHealthcare entities and their partnersIndividual RightsBroader rights (e.g., data portability)Limited to healthcare data access and control