What is the primary purpose of the HIPAA Privacy Rule?

The primary purpose of the HIPAA Privacy Rule is to establish safeguards for the privacy of health information. This rule was designed to protect individuals' medical records and personal health information held by covered entities, such as health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers that conduct certain transactions electronically. By setting national standards for the protection of health information, the Privacy Rule ensures that an individual's health data is accessed and disclosed only under specific circumstances, thereby empowering patients with rights over their personal health information.

While the other options touch on important aspects of HIPAA, they do not represent the core focus of the Privacy Rule. The establishment of national standards for electronic health transactions is indeed a component of HIPAA, but it falls under a different section of the regulations, known as the Transactions and Code Sets Rule. Similarly, outlining penalties for non-compliance and facilitating better patient care are significant elements of the overall HIPAA framework, but they do not specifically capture the essence of the Privacy Rule's primary purpose, which is the protection of personal health information privacy.