Which regulation governs the protection of patient health information in the United States?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the primary regulation governing the protection of patient health information in the United States. HIPAA was established to safeguard medical information, ensuring that personal health details are controlled and protected by healthcare providers, insurers, and other entities involved in handling patient data.

HIPAA outlines requirements for the privacy and security of health information, granting patients certain rights regarding their health records, such as the right to access their information and request corrections. It sets forth various standards for the safeguarding of electronic health information as well, making it essential for healthcare organizations to implement robust security measures to protect against unauthorized access.

While the other options pertain to various aspects of data privacy and protection, they are not specific to patient health information in the same way. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) deals with the privacy of student education records, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act supports HIPAA's provisions but is focused on the promotion of health information technology, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union regulation concerning data protection and privacy, not applicable to health information in the U.S. context. Therefore, HIPAA remains the cornerstone of patient health information protection