Which federal law protects the privacy of patient-specific health information and controls how it is used and distributed?

• A. Confidentiality
• B. Ethics
• C. HIPAA
• D. Exploitation

Answer: (C)

The idea tested is how patient health information is kept private and how its use and sharing are regulated. The federal law that does this is HIPAA. It sets the rules for protecting the privacy of protected health information and specifies how that information can be used or disclosed. HIPAA’s Privacy Rule limits who can access PHI and under what circumstances, requires authorization for most disclosures, and gives patients rights to access and amend their records. It also includes the Security Rule for protecting electronic PHI and the Breach Notification Rule for reporting data losses. HIPAA applies to covered entities like healthcare providers, health plans, and clearinghouses, as well as their business associates, ensuring consistent privacy protections across the health system. By contrast, confidentiality is a general principle, ethics are moral guidelines, and exploitation is illegal wrongdoing, none of which establish the formal federal protections HIPAA provides.