What does HIPAA protect?

HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, specifically protects protected health information (PHI). This refers to any information that can identify an individual and relates to their past, present, or future physical or mental health conditions, healthcare services provided, or payment for those services. PHI encompasses a broad array of information including, but not limited to, names, addresses, birth dates, social security numbers, and medical records.

Understanding these protections is crucial because HIPAA establishes standards to safeguard individuals' medical records and other personal health information, ensuring privacy and security in handling that data. This focus on PHI highlights the importance of confidentiality in healthcare settings, particularly in environments relating to research with sensitive populations, such as prisoners.

The other options refer to different concepts: general health information from public entities and non-identifiable health statistics do not have the same protections under HIPAA, and while personally identifiable information is a broader category, HIPAA’s primary concern is specifically with PHI. Consequently, the correct answer is linked directly to the defined scope of what HIPAA aims to protect.