IV. Legal Aspects of EHR Considering the error reduction and availability of records worldwide, physicians in hospitals and other facilities have rapidly adopted electronic health records. At the same token, many have been served with subpoenas and lawsuits as well due to legality issues with patient information safety of digital records. Via implementation of laws and acts set forth by the government, everyone has been alerted to treat patient’s privacy with utmost safety. One such act is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also referred as HIPAA, was enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton. HIPAA is largely famous today for requiring protection and confidentiality of patients. “The HIPAA Privacy regulations require health care providers and organizations, as well as their business associates, develop and follow procedures that ensure the confidentiality and security of protected health information (PHI) when it is transferred, received, handled, or shared.” (California DOHCS) HIPAA helps to limit the availability of patient’s records and gives the right to privacy to individuals between the ages of 12 to 18. A provider must have a sign disclosure form before handing out any information, including parents even. HIPAA has further led to the enactment of two other acts: a) Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH); and b) Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Electronic health records may also be responsible for higher exposure of medical malpractice lawsuits and liability issues. Medical malpractice lawsuits can be caused due to any lapses between information between records and/or systems from one office to another. Discontinuities between information systems may cause prescribed