Flexible Endoscopy Practice Test 2025 – Complete Exam Resource

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the regulation that specifically addresses the confidentiality and security of health data. Enacted in 1996, HIPAA establishes national standards for the protection of healthcare information, ensuring that personal health information (PHI) is safeguarded from unauthorized access and breaches. It sets guidelines for when and how patient information can be shared, requiring healthcare providers and organizations to implement measures that protect the integrity and privacy of health data.

HIPAA applies to covered entities, such as healthcare providers, insurance companies, and healthcare clearinghouses, and includes provisions for both electronic and paper records. The regulation has played a critical role in fostering trust between patients and healthcare providers by ensuring that sensitive health information remains confidential.

In contrast, while the right to know act and patients' bill of rights touch on aspects of patient information and rights, they do not focus primarily on the confidentiality and security of health data in the same comprehensive way as HIPAA does. The safe medical device act mainly pertains to the regulation of medical devices and is not focused on health data confidentiality.