Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Practice Exam

How must electronic protected health information (e-PHI) be protected when sent through the Internet?

1. Using physical security measures

2. Without any protection

3. With encryption technology

4. By limiting access

The correct answer is: With encryption technology

When sending electronic protected health information (e-PHI) over the internet, it is essential to safeguard this sensitive data through proper security measures to prevent unauthorized access or breaches. The use of encryption technology is a critical best practice in this context. Encryption transforms the data into a format that cannot be easily understood by anyone who does not possess the decryption key, thereby protecting the information during transmission. Sending e-PHI without any protection exposes it to risks such as interception and unauthorized access, making it non-compliant with HIPAA regulations, which mandate measures to protect the confidentiality and integrity of e-PHI. Physical security measures, while important for protecting data at rest, do not apply to the transmission of data over the internet. Similarly, limiting access is more relevant to controlling who can access the data rather than how the data is transmitted securely over networks. Therefore, employing encryption is the most effective and compliant method for protecting e-PHI when it is transmitted over the internet.