What Type of Health Information Does the Security Rule Address

The HIPAA Security Rule addresses electronic health data. The idea is straightforward: when health information is stored, sent, or handled electronically, there should be clear standards to help keep it confidential. Those standards spell out expectations for administrative safeguards, physical safeguards, and technical safeguards—the kinds of protections an organization uses for its electronic data.

The short answer: electronic health data

So, what type of health information does the HIPAA Security Rule address? It’s electronic health data—health information that’s in electronic form and is being used, stored, or transmitted.

That matters because HIPAA groups rules by the kind of issue involved. The Security Rule is specifically about electronic handling of health data. It’s not focused on paper records in the same way, and it doesn’t cover every privacy question in one place.

It also doesn’t just describe data in general. It ties the required protections to helping maintain confidentiality for that electronic health data.

What the HIPAA Security Rule is

The HIPAA security rule sets standards for protecting electronic health data. In practical terms, it lays out how covered organizations should protect the electronic side of health information.

In plain language, it requires covered organizations to use safeguards so that electronic health data is handled in a way that supports confidentiality. It’s not really about one particular app or one specific device. It’s about the overall approach your organization uses to protect electronic health data.

Those safeguards fall into three categories:

• Administrative safeguards
• Physical safeguards
• Technical safeguards

All three categories connect back to the same goal: protecting the confidentiality of electronic health data.

How confidentiality fits into the rule

A lot of people hear “security rule” and assume it’s only about hackers and passwords. That’s part of it, but the Security Rule also focuses on the bigger goal: keeping data confidential.

Confidentiality here means limiting who can see the information and helping ensure it isn’t exposed in ways it shouldn’t be. For electronic health data, that shows up in decisions about policies and staffing, physical access to systems, and technology controls that restrict access and protect data.

So when you’re thinking about what the rule addresses, it helps to hold both ideas together:

1. What it covers: electronic health data
2. Why it requires safeguards: to help keep that data confidential

The three safeguard categories: administrative, physical, and technical

The Security Rule sets safeguards in three categories. The categories describe the protections used, not a new list of categories of health information.

Here’s a practical way to think about each one:

Administrative safeguards

These are the “people and process” protections. They cover how your organization manages work involving electronic health data—things like internal rules, responsibilities, and how you keep protection practices consistent.

Administrative safeguards support confidentiality by setting expectations and routines for handling electronic health data.

Physical safeguards

These are the “where things live” protections. If electronic systems or storage are housed in physical locations, then physical safeguards cover controlling access to those locations and equipment.

Physical safeguards support confidentiality by reducing casual access to systems that store or process electronic health data.

Technical safeguards

These are the “technology controls” protections. They relate to the electronic systems themselves—how access is controlled, how data is protected inside systems, and how technology is used to apply safeguards.

Technical safeguards support confidentiality by helping prevent unauthorized access or exposure of electronic health data.

If you remember one thing, remember this: the Security Rule is about electronic health data, and the three safeguard categories are the tools and controls used to protect it, especially confidentiality.

Electronic health information versus protected health information

This is where a lot of people get mixed up.

• Electronic health data is what the Security Rule focuses on, since it’s specifically about protecting health information in electronic form.
• Protected health information is a broader HIPAA term. It refers to health information that falls under HIPAA protections.

Your question is specifically about the Security Rule, so the simplest way to keep things straight is:

• The Security Rule addresses electronic health data.
• When people talk about “protected health information,” they’re usually referring to the broader HIPAA idea of what counts as PHI, not the Security Rule’s focus on electronic form.

The material here doesn’t provide a basis for listing “three types of protected health information,” so it wouldn’t be accurate to invent that. The key takeaway is the relationship between the terms:

• Security Rule = protects electronic health data
• PHI = broader HIPAA label for health information that is protected

How this differs from the HIPAA Privacy Rule

A quick way to separate them without getting stuck in legal wording:

• The Security Rule is about safeguards for electronic health data, using administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to help protect it—especially confidentiality.
• The Privacy Rule is about rights and limits around how health information is used and disclosed.

Both are part of HIPAA, but they cover different work. The Security Rule focuses on protecting electronic data. The Privacy Rule focuses on handling and sharing health information in terms of access and use.

So if you keep wondering, “Is this privacy?” you can re-anchor on the phrase: security rule + electronic health data.

Common questions about the Security Rule

What type of health information does the security rule address?

It addresses electronic health data. The standards are meant to help protect that data’s confidentiality.

What type of safeguards does the HIPAA Security Rule address?

It addresses administrative safeguards, physical safeguards, and technical safeguards—all tied to protecting electronic health data and supporting confidentiality.

What is the HIPAA Security Rule under HIPAA?

Under HIPAA, the Security Rule sets standards for protecting electronic health data. Those standards include administrative, physical, and technical safeguards, connected to maintaining confidentiality.

Are there “three types of protected health information”?

The information provided here doesn’t identify a three-part list of protected health information types. If you see someone naming “three types,” double-check that it matches the specific HIPAA concept they mean, because you shouldn’t assume it from the Security Rule basics alone.

---

If you’re using this to make decisions for your organization, align it with the HIPAA compliance guidance your team or counsel has already prepared. The Security Rule is about electronic health data and the safeguards used to protect it, so your next steps should follow the guidance that applies to your specific situation.