Explain the requirements for health care information technology systems to comply with federal, state, and local laws governing patient information security.

To comply with the federal, state, and local laws governing patient information security, health care information technology systems must adhere to a variety of highly specific requirements. At the federal level, this includes following the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which requires all healthcare organizations to have physical, technical and administrative safeguards in place to protect patients’ personal data from unauthorized access or disclosure. Furthermore, any sharing of protected health information (PHI) must be done according to HIPAA’s Privacy Rule standards.

At the state level different regulations may apply; for example some states may require additional steps such as encrypting PHI when stored on electronic devices or mandating certain levels of authentication for user access. In addition to these legal requirements, IT systems should also follow industry best practices such as regularly testing security measures and implementing two-factor authentication whenever possible.

Finally, IT systems should take into account any local laws that could affect how they handle patient information security. For instance some cities may have their own ordinances related to privacy that must be adhered to; this is especially true if sensitive information is being shared across borders since many countries have their own set of regulations regarding data protection that need to be followed. All in all it is important for healthcare institutions to stay up-to-date on changes in law relating data protection in order ensure they are compliant with applicable regulations at all times.