Under HIPAA, which statement is true regarding disclosure for treatment?

• A. Under HIPAA, disclosure for treatment is allowed without patient authorization.
• B. HIPAA allows copying for school projects without authorization.
• C. HIPAA has no restrictions on how records are shared.
• D. HIPAA requires patient consent to share any information.

Answer: (A)

In HIPAA, the privacy rule allows sharing protected health information to treat the patient without needing a signed authorization. This means clinicians can disclose information to other providers involved in the patient’s care, or to facilities coordinating treatment, so care can be coordinated smoothly. The sharing must still follow the minimum necessary standard—only the information needed to support treatment should be shared.

This differs from activities like copying records for a school project, which isn’t treatment and generally requires authorization or a legitimate, approved purpose. It also isn’t true that HIPAA has no restrictions on sharing, or that consent is required to share any information for treatment—the latter would contradict the allowance for treatment disclosures.