Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Practice Exam

What are the three areas of safeguards addressed by the Security Rule?

1. Financial, personal, and technical safeguards

2. Administrative, physical, and technical safeguards

3. Operational, financial, and administrative safeguards

4. None of the above

The correct answer is: Administrative, physical, and technical safeguards

The correct answer highlights the three critical areas of safeguards as outlined by the HIPAA Security Rule. This rule specifically addresses the need to protect electronic protected health information (ePHI) through three categories of safeguards: administrative, physical, and technical. Administrative safeguards refer to the policies and procedures that help manage the selection, development, implementation, and maintenance of security measures to protect ePHI. These are essential for establishing a security framework and ensuring compliance. Physical safeguards protect the physical facilities and the equipment used to store ePHI from unauthorized access and environmental hazards. These could include locks, security personnel, and other physical measures that prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining access to sensitive information. Technical safeguards, on the other hand, involve technology and the mechanisms that protect ePHI and control access to it. These can include encryption, access controls, and audit controls to ensure that only authorized individuals can access sensitive data. Other options do not accurately describe the safeguard categories specified in the Security Rule. For instance, financial safeguards are not a recognized category under HIPAA, and the combination of operational and financial safeguards does not align with the established framework. Understanding these correct categories is crucial for ensuring compliance with HIPAA regulations and protecting patient information.