Which term is the practice of keeping patient information private?

Which term is the practice of keeping patient information private?

• A. Ethics
• B. Confidentiality
• C. Health Record
• D. Data Collection

Answer: (B)

Confidentiality is the practice of keeping patient information private and sharing it only with people who have a legitimate need to know, with patient consent and within legal protections. In health care, this means safeguarding details like diagnoses, treatment plans, and personal identifiers from unnecessary or unauthorized disclosure. It isn’t just about keeping a file secure; it’s about how information is handled in everyday care—who can access it, how it’s shared, and how patients are informed about who sees their data. This principle underpins trust between patients and providers and is reinforced by laws and standards such as HIPAA.

Ethics refers to broader moral principles guiding behavior, including confidentiality, but it isn’t the specific practice of privacy itself. A health record is the actual collection of a patient’s information, and data collection is the process of gathering that information. Confidentally keeping information private is what confidentiality describes.