HIPAA and patient privacy

HIPAA is the federal law that protects health information. It applies to health plans, most health care providers, and the businesses that work for them. IHS and many tribal health programs follow HIPAA too.

Key ideas

• Protected health information (PHI) is any health information that can identify a person.
• Minimum necessary: only use or share the least information needed to do the job.
• The Security Rule requires administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for electronic health information.
• In small communities, privacy matters even more. Never look up a relative's, neighbor's, or friend's record out of curiosity. Access is logged.