What is required for a breach to be considered reportable?

A breach is considered reportable when it involves a privacy breach and unsecured protected health information (PHI). A privacy breach occurs whenever there is unauthorized access to or disclosure of PHI. For the breach to be reportable, the PHI must be unsecured, which means that it has not been encrypted or adequately protected, making it accessible to unauthorized individuals.

When these two elements—an actual breach of privacy and the presence of unsecured PHI—are present, it triggers reporting obligations to the affected individuals and potentially to the government, depending on the extent and nature of the breach. This requirement is in line with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which outlines the conditions under which breaches must be reported to ensure the protection and confidentiality of health information.

In contrast, the other options do not encapsulate the full criteria for reportability. While employee negligence and the termination of staff can be relevant in the context of breaches, they do not address the fundamental requirement of whether the breach involves unsecured PHI. Furthermore, while public discovery of PHI is concerning, it alone does not meet the criteria for what determines a reportable breach without the context of security measures taken for the PHI.