HIPAA is an acronym for The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It is a federal law that came into existence in 1996. The way Protected Health Information (PHI) is used and disclosed is dictated by HIPAA. PHI that is required to facilitate treatment or for accounts and payment may be disclosed without the patient’s written consent, but any additional information must only be stored and shared with explicit written consent. All entities covered by HIPAA commit to only disclose the minimum required information.