What is the primary purpose of HIPAA?

The primary purpose of HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is to protect the privacy and security of health information. This federal law was enacted to safeguard sensitive patient data, ensuring that individuals' health information remains confidential and is only shared with authorized persons or entities. The regulations established by HIPAA delineate the responsibilities of healthcare providers, insurance companies, and other entities that handle such information, thereby empowering patients with rights over their personal health information and ensuring that their privacy is respected.

The other options focus on different aspects of healthcare and pharmacy operations. While standardizing pharmacy operations could improve efficiency, it is not HIPAA's focus. Governing medication distribution pertains to regulations that ensure medications are delivered safely and effectively, but this is separate from the privacy measures that HIPAA enforces. Similarly, while fair billing practices are important in healthcare, they are not the central concern of HIPAA, which is primarily about the protection of health information confidentiality and integrity.