Which term best describes the protection of data from unauthorized disclosure or alteration, as used in health information management?

• A. Privacy
• B. Confidentiality
• C. Security
• D. Privilege

Answer: (C)

Protecting data from unauthorized disclosure or alteration is about information security. In health information management, security encompasses the safeguards—technical, administrative, and physical—that prevent access by the wrong people and guard against tampering or changes to data. It covers measures like access controls, authentication, encryption, audit trails, and secure storage, all aimed at keeping data accurate, intact, and available only to those with proper authority.

Understanding the others helps clarify why security is the best fit: privacy focuses on individuals’ rights over their information and how it is used; confidentiality concerns keeping information secret from those not authorized to know it; privilege is a legal doctrine about rights to withhold or disclose information in certain contexts. None of these alone describes the active protection of data from disclosure or alteration as security does.