Clustering, especially in sensitive domains like healthcare, can inadvertently expose confidential patient data if the resulting groups are too specific or reveal underlying health conditions. The AAIATM Study Guide warns that clustering can increase privacy risks when small, homogenous groups are formed that effectively re-identify individuals or reveal sensitive traits.
"Clustering results must be carefully reviewed to prevent indirect re-identification or unintended exposure of sensitive traits. Ethical handling of aggregated patient data is essential to protect individual privacy."