What is a potential outcome of not de-identifying health data when necessary?

Not de-identifying health data when necessary can lead to exposure to privacy breaches. When health data contains identifiable information, it becomes vulnerable to unauthorized access and potential misuse. In the context of health data management, protecting patient privacy is paramount, as the disclosure of identifiable information could result in significant harm to individuals, including discrimination, loss of insurance, or reputational damage.

De-identification is a critical practice that mitigates these risks by removing or altering personal identifiers to prevent the identification of individuals from the dataset. Failure to properly de-identify health data can lead organizations to violate privacy regulations such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), potentially resulting in legal consequences and damaging the organization's reputation.

The other options, while positive in nature, do not align with the consequences of not de-identifying health data. Improved data accuracy, enhanced patient trust, and increased data reliability are benefits that stem from proper data handling and privacy practices, but they do not directly relate to the specific risk arising from failing to de-identify.