What type of information is considered protected under HIPAA?

Health information that can identify an individual is considered protected under HIPAA because it pertains to personal health details that must remain confidential to ensure privacy. This includes any information that can be used to identify a patient, such as names, addresses, social security numbers, medical records, and other related data. The primary purpose of HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information. The act establishes standards for safeguarding this information, emphasizing that unauthorized access or sharing of individually identifiable health data can lead to significant privacy violations.

In contrast, public health information is not necessarily protected under the same strict regulations if it does not identify individuals. Aggregate health statistics typically involve data that is summarized and does not reflect any individual's identity, and therefore, is not protected by HIPAA. General healthcare policy information usually addresses regulations or guidelines rather than specific individual health cases, which also falls outside the scope of HIPAA's privacy protections.