HIPAA protects which type of data?

• A. Financial transaction data.
• B. Health information from oversharing.
• C. Educational records.
• D. Publicly available data.

Answer: (B)

HIPAA protects health information about individuals, known as Protected Health Information (PHI). The privacy rule restricts how PHI can be used or shared by covered entities—such as doctors, hospitals, and health plans—and their business associates, to keep patient information confidential while still permitting necessary care, billing, and health operations. PHI includes identifiers like a person’s name, birth date, contact details, medical records, diagnoses, treatment information, and billing data when those details can identify the patient. Financial transaction data fall under other privacy laws focused on financial information, not HIPAA. Educational records are protected mainly by FERPA, not HIPAA, and data that’s publicly available isn’t restricted by HIPAA. So the health-related information aspect is what HIPAA is designed to guard.