Which of the following were goals of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enacted in 2001?

• A. Increase patients' control over their health information
• B. Create national standards to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information
• C. Establish safeguards that health care providers and others must achieve to protect the privacy of health information
• D. All of the above

Answer: (D)

HIPAA’s purpose includes giving individuals more control over their health information, establishing nationwide standards to protect that information, and requiring safeguards to protect the privacy and security of health data. Because it addresses all three aspects—patients’ rights and access to their records, uniform privacy protections across entities, and the technical and administrative safeguards for handling PHI—each of these elements is part of what HIPAA aims to achieve. That’s why choosing all of the above is the best answer.