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Principle of Least Privilege

Meaning

The Principle of Least Privilege is a foundational information security concept asserting that a user, process, or system component should only be granted the minimum necessary permissions or access rights required to perform its designated function. In the healthcare setting, this means that a clinician or administrative staff member should only be able to view the patient data, such as sensitive hormonal lab results, strictly necessary for their specific role. This principle is a crucial administrative control for protecting Protected Health Information (PHI).