Introduction to the Fundamentals of Law for Health Information and Information Management Practice Test

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1 / 20

In health IT, what is the purpose of tamper-evident logs?

Replace old logs monthly.

Detect unauthorized changes and provide an audit trail for accountability.

Tamper-evident logs are about preserving the integrity of audit records and making any changes detectable, which is essential in health IT. They ensure that every access or action related to patient data is captured and that attempts to alter the logs themselves can be detected, providing a reliable trail for accountability. In practice, this often involves cryptographic techniques like hash chaining and digital signatures so you can verify that a log entry hasn’t been modified since it was created. This supports regulatory compliance, security investigations, and patient safety by enabling clear, trustworthy records of who did what and when.

Other options miss the mark because they address only one aspect of logging (like rotating old logs, protecting data in transit, or deleting logs) and do not guarantee the ongoing integrity or auditable trail that tamper-evident logs provide.

Encrypt logs for transit only.

Delete logs after 90 days.

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