What is the purpose of a disclosure accounting under HIPAA?

• A. To record all disclosures of PHI, regardless of authorization.
• B. To document data access by all users.
• C. To provide an accounting of PHI disclosures made without authorization.
• D. To justify data sharing with third parties.

Answer: (C)

HIPAA gives individuals a right to see a record of certain disclosures of their PHI. The purpose is to provide an accounting of PHI disclosures that occurred outside the normal, allowed uses and not under an authorization, so the patient can see who received their information and why, typically for disclosures made in the past six years. This accounting helps promote transparency and privacy protection by showing external disclosures rather than internal access or routinely authorized sharing.