The act of revealing private patient information without consent.

• A. Invasion of Privacy
• B. Libel
• C. Slander
• D. Living Will

Answer: (A)

Revealing private patient information without consent is a breach of confidentiality—an invasion of privacy in healthcare. Patients have a right to expect that their personal health details stay confidential unless they authorize disclosure or it’s necessary for care, payment, or legally required situations. When information is shared without proper authorization, trust is broken and there can be legal and ethical consequences for the provider or organization.

Libel and slander describe making false statements that damage someone’s reputation—written and spoken, respectively—not about the privacy of medical information. A living will is an advance directive about a patient’s wishes for treatment if they can’t communicate, not about privacy or disclosure of information. So the act described fits invasion of privacy.