What significant change did the HITECH Act make to HIPAA?

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act significantly advanced the goals of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by actively promoting the adoption and meaningful use of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. This was a crucial shift because the HITECH Act was designed to improve healthcare quality, safety, and efficiency through the use of health information technology.

By incentivizing healthcare providers to adopt EHR systems, the HITECH Act aimed to ensure that patient health information could be more effectively documented, shared, and analyzed, ultimately leading to better patient care outcomes. Moreover, "meaningful use" criteria established by the HITECH Act set specific benchmarks that healthcare providers had to meet regarding the use of EHRs, thereby ensuring that these systems were not only adopted but also used in a way that enhances care quality and efficiency.

The other options, while they touch on important aspects of the HITECH Act or HIPAA, do not represent the core significant change driven by HITECH. Although penalties for privacy violations and requirements for consent are vital components of HIPAA, the central focus of the HITECH Act was on the enhancement and implementation of health information technology through EHRs.