Final answer:
HIPAA is designed to protect patient privacy and ensure the confidentiality of their health information. It sets strict standards for businesses and organizations that handle health information. HIPAA requires informed consent from patients before their health information is shared.
Step-by-step explanation:
At its core, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is designed to protect patient privacy and ensure the confidentiality of their health information. It sets strict standards for businesses and organizations that handle health information, such as insurance companies and healthcare providers, to maintain the confidentiality of patient records.
The act requires informed consent from patients before their health information is shared, seeks to preserve the confidentiality of their records, and protects them from personal harm. HIPAA is important in safeguarding patient privacy and preventing unauthorized release of individually identifiable health information to entities not engaged in providing healthcare to the patient.
For example, if a healthcare provider were to contact a patient's sexual partners without the patient's consent, it could violate the patient's privacy rights under HIPAA.