Understanding Public-Key Infrastructure: Concepts, Standards, and Deployment Considerations

Business Model Influences

In addition to internal business requirements, external events sometimes significantly influence the business model. For example, the U.S. health care industry is witnessing the introduction of legislation that is likely to cast an unprecedented focus on the protection of electronic health care information. Specifically, the Medical Records Confidentiality Act of 1995 levies severe penalties associated with the unauthorized disclosure of medical information. In addition, the Health Information Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (also known as the Kennedy/Kassebaum Bill) mandates that the U.S. Congress enacts federal laws for the protection of patient information no later than August 1999. Implementation of the technology ...