Final answer:
HIPAA violations majorly include denying patients access to their own health records. This violation underlines the law's commitment to confidentiality and the patient's right to privacy, which extends to cases where revealing information to sexual partners without consent is deemed illegal.
Step-by-step explanation:
Restricting a patient's rights to access their own health records is a top violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Formulated to protect sensitive patient data, HIPAA proscribes businesses and healthcare providers from disclosing patient information without their consent. This law maintains that patients have the right to their own health information, and failure to provide access upon request is considered a violation.
When dealing with the complexities of patient privacy versus the right to know, such as in cases involving sexually transmitted diseases, HIPAA rules must be carefully followed. Physicians are not allowed to contact or reveal a patient's diagnosis to sexual partners without the patient's consent, which touches on the deep-seated ethical and legal considerations of privacy and the right to be informed.
Moreover, the improvement of healthcare through sharing digital records amongst providers raises significant concerns over the privacy and security of electronic health records. Such concerns must be addressed by developing robust privacy policies that delineate the boundaries and permitted exceptions to patient confidentiality, as exemplified by reasonable exceptions like those making medical records of government employees exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.