What term describes the obligation to protect a patient’s private health information?

• A. Privacy
• B. Secrecy
• C. Confidentiality
• D. Disclosure

Answer: (C)

Confidentiality is the obligation to protect a patient’s private health information. In healthcare, professionals are ethically and legally bound to keep patient data confidential and to share it only with those who need to know for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, or when the patient has given consent or when required by law. This duty builds trust and encourages patients to share information openly. Privacy refers to the patient’s right to control information about themselves; secrecy isn’t the formal term used in professional practice, and disclosure means sharing information, which confidentiality governs by limiting it to appropriate, authorized contexts.