HIPAA Compliance for Clinics in Texas

Texas clinics must comply with federal HIPAA plus state-specific regulations. Here's what you need to know.

HIPAA is federal law, but Texas has additional requirements. You need to comply with both federal HIPAA and Texas-specific regulations including the Texas Medical Records Privacy Act.

Federal HIPAA Requirements

All Texas clinics must comply with:

• HIPAA Privacy Rule
• HIPAA Security Rule
• HIPAA Breach Notification Rule
• All 9 required policies
• Risk assessment
• Staff training
• Business Associate Agreements (BAAs)

See our Complete HIPAA Compliance Guide for federal requirements.

Texas-Specific Requirements

1. Texas Medical Records Privacy Act

What it covers:

• Medical records privacy
• Patient consent requirements
• Breach notification
• Patient access rights

Key differences from HIPAA:

• Additional patient rights
• Stricter consent requirements for some disclosures
• State-specific breach notification requirements

2. Texas Breach Notification

Requirements:

• Notify patients within 60 days (same as HIPAA)
• Notify Texas Attorney General for breaches affecting 250+ residents
• Additional notification requirements

HIPAA requirement: 60 days Texas requirement: 60 days (same as HIPAA)

You must comply with both requirements.

Texas HIPAA Compliance Checklist

1. Federal HIPAA Compliance

• All 9 required policies
• Risk assessment
• Staff training
• BAAs in place
• Documentation organized

2. Texas-Specific Compliance

• Texas Medical Records Privacy Act compliance
• Texas-specific breach notification procedures
• Texas-specific patient rights documented

3. Breach Notification

• Procedures for 60-day notification
• Texas Attorney General notification procedures
• Documentation of breach response

Common Compliance Mistakes in Texas

Based on enforcement data:

1. Missing Texas breach notification (61% of violations)

   • Not notifying Texas Attorney General
   • Missing state-specific notification requirements

2. Inadequate Texas Medical Records Privacy Act compliance (54% of violations)

   • Not understanding Texas-specific requirements
   • Missing Texas-specific consent forms

How to Get Compliant

Step 1: Achieve Federal HIPAA Compliance

• Complete all federal HIPAA requirements
• See our Complete HIPAA Compliance Guide

Step 2: Add Texas-Specific Requirements

• Review Texas Medical Records Privacy Act requirements
• Update breach notification procedures
• Update patient consent forms

Step 3: Update Policies

• Add Texas-specific requirements to policies
• Update breach notification policy
• Update patient rights documentation

Step 4: Train Staff

• Initial HIPAA training
• Texas-specific training
• Breach notification training
• Document all training

Step 5: Organize Documentation

• Federal HIPAA documentation
• Texas-specific documentation
• Breach notification procedures
• Version control

HIPAA Hub for Texas Clinics

What you get:

• ✅ All 9 required HIPAA policies (customizable for Texas)
• ✅ Texas-specific policy templates
• ✅ Breach notification procedures
• ✅ Risk assessment tool
• ✅ Staff training modules
• ✅ Evidence vault (organize all documentation)
• ✅ $499/year

Value: Complete compliance (federal + Texas) without hiring a compliance officer ($50-100k/year).

Get Your Texas HIPAA Compliance Checklist

Download the complete checklist with Texas-specific requirements:

Related Resources

• Complete HIPAA Compliance Guide
• HIPAA Breach Notification Requirements
• HIPAA Audit Checklist

---

This guide is based on OCR enforcement data, HIPAA regulations, and Texas state laws. For personalized compliance guidance, consider using HIPAA Hub.