Texas Health and Safety Code 181.205 – Mitigation
(a) In an action or proceeding to impose an administrative penalty or assess a civil penalty for actions related to the disclosure of individually identifiable health information, a covered entity may introduce, as mitigating evidence, evidence of the entity’s good faith efforts to comply with:
(1) state law related to the privacy of individually identifiable health information; or
(2) the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Privacy Standards.
(b) In determining the amount of a penalty imposed under other law in accordance with § 181.202, a court or state agency shall consider the following factors:
(1) the seriousness of the violation, including the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the disclosure;
(2) the covered entity’s compliance history;
(3) whether the violation poses a significant risk of financial, reputational, or other harm to an individual whose protected health information is involved in the violation;
(4) whether the covered entity was certified at the time of the violation as described by § 182.108;
(5) the amount necessary to deter a future violation; and
(6) the covered entity’s efforts to correct the violation.
Terms Used In Texas Health and Safety Code 181.205
- Covered entity: means any person who:
(A) for commercial, financial, or professional gain, monetary fees, or dues, or on a cooperative, nonprofit, or pro bono basis, engages, in whole or in part, and with real or constructive knowledge, in the practice of assembling, collecting, analyzing, using, evaluating, storing, or transmitting protected health information. See Texas Health and Safety Code 181.001 - Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Privacy Standards: means the privacy requirements in existence on September 1, 2011, of the Administrative Simplification subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Pub. See Texas Health and Safety Code 181.001
(c) On receipt of evidence under Subsections (a) and (b), a court or state agency shall consider the evidence and mitigate imposition of an administrative penalty or assessment of a civil penalty accordingly.