Abstract: Most of the security requirements outlined in the proposed regulations are quite general, and the stated focus of the regulations is to be “technology neutral”. For electronic signatures the proposed requirement is a digital signature. HIPAA will not require the use of electronic signatures. If they are used, however, they must comply with the requirements that will be outlined in the final regulations. Currently the Department of Health and Human Services proposes to adopt a cryptographically based digital signature as the standard. Applying a mathematical function to the electronic document forms a digital signature. This results in a unique bit string, referred to as a “message digest”. Then, the digest is encrypted using the originator's private key. The resulting bit stream is appended to the document and the document is transmitted over a communications network.