Protected health information (PHI) under US law is any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that is created or collected by a Covered Entity (or a Business Associate of a Covered Entity), and can be linked to a specific individual. This is interpreted rather broadly and includes any part of a patient's medical record or payment history.
PHI is often sought out in datasets for de-identification before researchers share the dataset publicly. Researchers remove PHI from a dataset to preserve privacy for research participants.
Video Protected health information
United States
Under the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), PHI that is linked based on the following list of 18 identifiers must be treated with special care:
De-identification versus anonymization
Anonymization is a process in which PHI elements are eliminated or manipulated with the purpose of hindering the possibility of going back to the original data set. This involves removing all identifying data to create unlinkable data. De-identification under the HIPAA Privacy Rule occurs when data has been stripped of common identifiers by two methods:
- The removal of 18 specific identifiers (Safe Harbor Method):
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- Names
- Geographic data
- All elements of dates
- Telephone numbers
- FAX numbers
- Email addresses
- Social Security numbers
- Medical record numbers
- Health plan beneficiary numbers
- Account numbers
- Certificate/license numbers
- Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers including license plates
- Device identifiers and serial numbers
- Web URLs
- Internet protocol addresses
- Biometric identifiers (i.e. retinal scan, fingerprints)
- Full face photos and comparable images
- Any unique identifying number, characteristic or code
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- 2. Obtain the expertise of an experienced statistical expert to validate and document the statistical risk of re-identification is very small (Statistical Method).
De-identified data is coded, with a link to the original, fully identified data set kept by an honest broker. Links exist in coded de-identified data making the data considered indirectly identifiable and not anonymized. Coded de-identified data is not protected by the HIPAA Privacy Rule, but is protected under the Common Rule. The purpose of de-identification and anonymization is to use health care data in larger increments, for research purposes. Universities, government agencies, and private health care entities use such data for research, development and marketing purposes.
Covered Entities
In general, US law governing PHI applies to data collected in the course of providing and paying for health care. Privacy and security regulations govern how healthcare professionals, hospitals, health insurers and other Covered Entities use and protect the data they collect. It is important to understand that the source of the data is as relevant as the data itself when determining if information is PHI under U.S. law. For example, sharing information about someone on the street with an obvious medical condition such as an amputation is not restricted by US law. However, obtaining information about the amputation exclusively from a protected source, such as from an electronic medical record, would breach HIPAA regulations.
Business Associates
Covered Entities often use third parties to provide certain health and business services. If they need to share PHI with those third parties, it is the responsibility of the Covered Entity to put in place a Business Associate Agreement that holds the third party to the same standards of privacy and confidentiality as the Covered Entity.
Maps Protected health information
References
Further reading
- Full text of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (PDF/TXT) U.S. Government Printing Office
- What does PHI include?
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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