Which term refers to keeping patient information private?

Which term refers to keeping patient information private?

• A. Autonomy
• B. Confidentiality
• C. Beneficence
• D. Nonmaleficence

Answer: (B)

Keeping patient information private is confidentiality. It refers to the ethical and legal obligation to protect personal health information from unauthorized access, sharing details only with those who need to know for the patient’s care, and following laws and policies that safeguard privacy. Autonomy is about the patient’s right to make their own decisions, beneficence is about acting in the patient’s best interests, and nonmaleficence means avoiding harm. While those principles guide professional behavior, they don’t specifically address the privacy of information in the same direct way confidentiality does.

Keeping patient information private is confidentiality. It refers to the ethical and legal obligation to protect personal health information from unauthorized access, sharing details only with those who need to know for the patient’s care, and following laws and policies that safeguard privacy. Autonomy is about the patient’s right to make their own decisions, beneficence is about acting in the patient’s best interests, and nonmaleficence means avoiding harm. While those principles guide professional behavior, they don’t specifically address the privacy of information in the same direct way confidentiality does.