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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the regulatory standard that specifically focuses on protecting patient health information. Enacted in the United States in 1996, HIPAA establishes national standards for the protection of health information, ensuring that patients' medical records and personal health information are properly secured and kept confidential. The regulations apply to healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses that handle protected health information (PHI).

HIPAA's Privacy Rule gives patients rights over their health information, including the right to access their records and request corrections. The Security Rule complements the Privacy Rule by setting national standards for the protection of electronic PHI (ePHI) through administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.

In the context of the other regulations mentioned: GDPR focuses on data protection and privacy for individuals within the European Union, PCI DSS addresses security standards for payment card transactions, and SOX pertains to corporate governance and financial practices in publicly traded companies. None of these directly targets the protection of patient health information, highlighting why HIPAA is the appropriate choice for this question.