Nurse Aide Practice Exam

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) primarily focuses on the protection of individuals' protected health information (PHI). This includes any information that can be used to identify a patient and that relates to their health status, healthcare provision, or payment for healthcare. HIPAA establishes national standards to safeguard this sensitive information, ensuring it remains confidential and secure from unauthorized access or disclosure.

By outlining the requirements for healthcare providers, health plans, and other entities that handle medical information, HIPAA aims to protect patients' privacy rights and gives them certain rights regarding their medical records. The law addresses the ways in which PHI can be shared, requiring that it be done only with the informed consent of the patient or under specific legal allowances.

The focus of HIPAA on PHI explains why this answer is the most accurate representation of the Act's protections. While there are aspects of HIPAA that pertain to electronic communications and other forms of data, the core of the law is the confidentiality and security of health information regarding individuals.