What protections does HIPAA provide to consumer health information?

• A. It safeguards the privacy and security of PHI and limits who can access and share it
• B. It requires PHI to be shared with all employees
• C. It prohibits sharing PHI with anyone
• D. It only applies to employers

Answer: (A)

HIPAA protects the privacy and security of health information by establishing rules about how PHI can be used and disclosed. The Privacy Rule limits who may access PHI and under what circumstances, while the Security Rule requires safeguards to protect electronic PHI—covering administrative, physical, and technical protections. This means individuals have rights over their information and entities must limit access to what’s necessary and only share PHI for permitted purposes such as treatment, payment, healthcare operations, or with patient authorization.

So, the protections described are about safeguarding PHI and controlling who can access and share it, not about universal sharing with all staff, prohibiting all sharing, or applying only to employers.