Which scenario is a violation of adult patient confidentiality?

• A. Patient information disclosed to the patient's parent without consent.
• B. Patient information disclosed to the patient's parent with consent.
• C. Patient information disclosed to the patient’s creditor with consent.
• D. Patient information disclosed to the patient’s child with patient consent.

Answer: (A)

Protecting patient confidentiality means sharing protected health information only with individuals who the patient has authorized. For an adult, a parent normally does not have the right to access the patient’s PHI without explicit permission. Disclosing adult patient information to the parent without any consent is a confidentiality violation because it releases PHI to someone who is not authorized by the patient. The same information could be shared with the parent if the patient provides a valid authorization that specifies what can be shared and with whom. Disclosures to a creditor or to a child are acceptable when the patient has given consent (and the consent covers those recipients). The core idea is that patient authorization governs who can receive PHI.