What law in the U.S. protects the privacy of individual health information?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the law that specifically protects the privacy of individual health information in the United States. Enacted in 1996, HIPAA sets national standards for the protection of health information and requires healthcare providers, insurance companies, and other entities that handle health information to implement safeguards to protect patient privacy.

HIPAA is particularly significant in establishing rules regarding how personal health information can be used and shared, emphasizing the rights of individuals to control their own health information. This includes provisions that require organizations to obtain consent before sharing medical records and inform patients about how their information may be used.

In contrast, while the Privacy Act addresses the handling of personal information by federal agencies, it does not specifically target health information. The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) focuses on information security within federal agencies rather than privacy itself. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation from the European Union that deals with data protection and privacy for EU citizens, and does not apply to U.S. law directly. Thus, HIPAA is specifically tailored to safeguard health information privacy within the U.S. context, making it the correct choice.