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Ethics & Law · single question

Under HIPAA, in which situation are you required to provide a breach notification to the patient?

  1. Office records are lost in a fire
  2. The clinic computers are broken (hardware failure)
  3. A breakdown of the security system results in unauthorized access/exposure of protected health information
  4. Another dentist requests the patient's records for continuity of care
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Correct answer: C. A breakdown of the security system results in unauthorized access/exposure of protected health information

Breach notification is required when protected health information is impermissibly accessed, acquired, used, or disclosed (a security breach exposing PHI). A security-system failure allowing unauthorized access triggers the duty to notify.Other options: A fire or hardware failure (loss/availability without unauthorized access) and a legitimate provider request for treatment purposes are not reportable breaches of confidentiality.Key exam takeaway: HIPAA breach notification = unauthorized access/disclosure of PHI; lawful treatment disclosures and mere data loss without exposure are different.

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