The HIPAA 'minimum necessary' standard applies to which of the following?

The HIPAA 'minimum necessary' standard applies to which of the following?

• A. All uses and disclosures of PHI by covered entities.
• B. Only disclosures of PHI to researchers.
• C. All human subjects research that uses PHI without an authorization from the data subject.
• D. PHI that has been de-identified.

Answer: (C)

Minimum necessary means PHI should be limited to the smallest amount needed to accomplish the purpose. In research, this rule becomes especially relevant when PHI is used without the subject’s authorization, such as when a waiver of authorization permits a study to proceed. Even with a waiver, researchers must still restrict the PHI to what is necessary for the research. Other contexts don’t fit as well because the standard isn’t about every use or disclosure of PHI, and there are treatments, payments, and other scenarios where different rules apply. Also, de-identified data isn’t PHI, so the minimum necessary standard doesn’t apply to it.

Minimum necessary means PHI should be limited to the smallest amount needed to accomplish the purpose. In research, this rule becomes especially relevant when PHI is used without the subject’s authorization, such as when a waiver of authorization permits a study to proceed. Even with a waiver, researchers must still restrict the PHI to what is necessary for the research.

Other contexts don’t fit as well because the standard isn’t about every use or disclosure of PHI, and there are treatments, payments, and other scenarios where different rules apply. Also, de-identified data isn’t PHI, so the minimum necessary standard doesn’t apply to it.