The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires that covered entities must limit use, access, and disclosure of PHI to only the amount needed to accomplish the intended purpose. What concept is this an example of?

The correct answer reflects the principle of limiting access to protected health information (PHI) to the minimum necessary amount for completing a particular task. This is known as the "minimum necessary" standard established by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The intent behind this concept is to safeguard patient information by ensuring that only essential information is disclosed or accessed, thereby minimizing the risk of unnecessary exposure or breaches of confidentiality.

In practical terms, covered entities—such as healthcare providers, health plans, and clearinghouses—must evaluate situations involving PHI to determine the least amount of information required for each specific purpose. For example, if a healthcare provider needs to share patient information with a specialist for treatment, only the relevant details necessary for that treatment should be shared, rather than the entire medical record.

The other concepts, such as notice of privacy practices, authorization, and consent, focus on informing patients about how their data is used and obtaining their permission for specific disclosures. However, they do not specifically emphasize the limitation of PHI access to what is strictly necessary, which is the core aspect of the minimum necessary standard.