What are health privacy principles (HPPs) designed to protect?

Health Privacy Principles (HPPs) are specifically designed to protect the privacy of personal healthcare information. These principles are established guidelines that govern how health-related data should be collected, used, stored, and shared, with a primary focus on safeguarding individuals' confidential health information.

The importance of HPPs lies in their role in ensuring that personal health data is handled with the utmost care, fostering trust between patients and healthcare providers. This protection extends to various aspects of a person’s health records, including medical history, treatment details, and any other sensitive information that could potentially be misused if not properly protected.

In the context of the other options, financial company secrets, intellectual property information, and governmental data access do not fall under the specific purview of HPPs, which are solely concerned with health data privacy. By centering on personal healthcare information, HPPs play a vital role in maintaining confidentiality and the ethical management of patient information.