Final answer:
HIPAA established protective measures for patient health information, preventing unauthorized release of individually identifiable information and setting the stage for GINA, which prohibits genetic discrimination.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) introduced significant reforms to protect patient health information. It set standards for the protection of patient information, requiring entities like insurance companies and healthcare providers to maintain strict confidentiality of patient records.
One of HIPAA's key provisions is to protect against the unauthorized, nonconsensual release of individually identifiable health information to entities not engaged in providing healthcare to a patient.
Additionally, it was pivotal in addressing concerns related to the use of genetic information, helping to prevent discrimination based on genetic predispositions to certain diseases.
The subsequent Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 further reinforced these protections against genetic discrimination by health insurance companies and employers.