Key Takeaways: HIPAA updates expected in 2026 will strengthen requirements to protect electronic protected health information (ePHI) and remove ambiguity regarding security safeguards. Enforcement ...

Next month, the Department of Health and Human Services is slated to finalize the first major update to HIPAA in more than a decade, which will force hospitals to adopt more robust security measures.

The 2026 HIPAA Security Rule updates will make encryption of all electronic protected health information (ePHI) at rest and in transit mandatory, ending the long-standing 'addressable' flexibility.

Major HIPAA updates in 2026 will reshape how healthcare organizations protect patient data, with mandatory multi-factor authentication, faster data restoration, and stricter privacy rules. These ...