
Health information such as diagnoses, treatment information, medical test results, and prescription information are considered protected health information under HIPAA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was enacted by the 104th United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was created primarily to modernize the flow of healthcare information, stipulate how Personally Identifiable Information maintained by the healthcare and healthcare insurance industries should be protected from fraud and theft, and address lim…
What counts as protected health information?
Protected health information (PHI), also referred to as personal health information, is the demographic information, medical histories, test and laboratory results, mental health conditions, insurance information and other data that a healthcare professional collects to identify an individual and determine appropriate care.
How effectively are we protecting protected health information?
• When we protect patient data, we help build trust between patients and providers. • Ensure Protected Health Information (PHI) is not disclosed to unauthorized persons. • Do not send email containing Protected Health Information (PHI) unless it is encrypted. • Log off your computer if you have to leave your workstation.
What you can do to protect your health information?
- Patient education on privacy protections. ...
- Ensuring patient access to their medical records. ...
- Receiving patient consent before information is released. ...
- Providing recourse if privacy protections are violated. ...
What is an example of protected health information?
Protected health information includes many common identifiers (e.g., name, address, birth date, Social Security Number) when they can be associated with the health information listed above. For example, a medical record, laboratory report, or hospital bill would be PHI because each document would contain a patient’s name and/or other ...

Which is protected by health information?
Protected health information includes all individually identifiable health information, including demographic data, medical histories, test results, insurance information, and other information used to identify a patient or provide healthcare services or healthcare coverage.
What are 4 examples of Protected Health Information?
Examples of PHIPatient names.Addresses — In particular, anything more specific than state, including street address, city, county, precinct, and in most cases zip code, and their equivalent geocodes.Dates — Including birth, discharge, admittance, and death dates.Telephone and fax numbers.Email addresses.More items...•
What is considered Protected Health Information under HIPAA?
The Privacy Rule protects all "individually identifiable health information" held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral. The Privacy Rule calls this information "protected health information (PHI)."
Which of the following is not considered Protected Health Information PHI )?
Examples of health data that is not considered PHI: Number of steps in a pedometer. Number of calories burned. Blood sugar readings w/out personally identifiable user information (PII) (such as an account or user name)
Which of the following are examples of Protected Health Information PHI?
The 18 HIPAA identifiers that make health information PHI are:Names.Dates, except year.Telephone numbers.Geographic data.FAX numbers.Social Security numbers.Email addresses.Medical record numbers.More items...•
What is PHI Protected Health Information quizlet?
PHI(Protected Health Information)- All individual identifiable health information and other information on treatment or care that is transmitted or maintained in any form or medium(electronic, paper, oral.
What is not included in PHI?
What is not PHI? De-identified health information neither identifies nor provides a reasonable base to identify an individual. Health information by itself without the 18 identifiers is not considered to be PHI. For example, a dataset of vital signs by themselves do not constitute protected health information.
What are the 5 HIPAA rules?
HHS initiated 5 rules to enforce Administrative Simplification: (1) Privacy Rule, (2) Transactions and Code Sets Rule, (3) Security Rule, (4) Unique Identifiers Rule, and (5) Enforcement Rule.
What are the 3 rules of HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) lays out three rules for protecting patient health information, namely: The Privacy Rule. The Security Rule. The Breach Notification Rule.
What is not protected by HIPAA?
6. What information isn't covered under the HIPAA Privacy Rule? HIPAA does not apply to employment records, even when those records include medical information. This includes employment records a covered entity holds in its role as employer.
Which of the following is considered PHI under HIPAA quizlet?
-Under HIPAA, the Privacy Rule protects the privacy of all Protected Health Information (PHI), which is individually identifiable health information that is gathered, stored, or transmitted on paper, orally, or by electronic or any other media.
What is considered as PHI?
What is PHI? Protected health information (PHI) is any information in the medical record or designated record set that can be used to identify an individual and that was created, used, or disclosed in the course of providing a health care service such as diagnosis or treatment.
What is PHI example?
Examples of PHI include: Name. Address (including subdivisions smaller than state such as street address, city, county, or zip code) Any dates (except years) that are directly related to an individual, including birthday, date of admission or discharge, date of death, or the exact age of individuals older than 89.
What are the 5 HIPAA rules?
HHS initiated 5 rules to enforce Administrative Simplification: (1) Privacy Rule, (2) Transactions and Code Sets Rule, (3) Security Rule, (4) Unique Identifiers Rule, and (5) Enforcement Rule.
What are the 3 rules of HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) lays out three rules for protecting patient health information, namely: The Privacy Rule. The Security Rule. The Breach Notification Rule.
What are the 3 main purposes of HIPAA?
The HIPAA legislation had four primary objectives: Assure health insurance portability by eliminating job-lock due to pre-existing medical conditions. Reduce healthcare fraud and abuse. Enforce standards for health information. Guarantee security and privacy of health information.
What is Protected Health Information?
The term Protected Health Information (PHI) was coined with the introduction of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in...
What Information is Considered PHI?
To be considered PHI, and therefore part of HIPPA compliance, information must be both personally identifiable or recognizable to the patient and u...
What Information is Not Considered PHI?
Not all identifiable information is considered PHI. PHI only relates to information on patients or health plan members. It doesn’t include informat...
What is Individually Identifiable Health Information?
When individually identifiable information is used by a HIPAA covered entity or business associate in relation to healthcare services or payment it is classed as protected health information.
What is HIPAA protection?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires covered entities to implement safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information, but what is protected health information? First, it is worthwhile explaining two other important terms detailed in HIPAA regulations: A covered ...
What is a business associate in HIPAA?
Department of Health and Human Services has adopted standards. A business associate is an organization or individual who performs services on behalf of a HIPAA-covered entity that requires access to, or the use of, protected health information.
How many identifiers are there in PHI?
There are 18 identifiers that can be used to identify, contact, or locate a person. If health information is used with any of these identifiers it is considered identifiable. If PHI has all of these identifiers removed, it is no longer considered to be protected health information. (see de-identification of protected health information)
When was PHI health app issued?
PHI health app guidance was issued by OCR in 2016 and can be viewed on this link (PDF).
Can you access PHI through HIPAA?
The HIPAA Privacy Rules stipulates allowable uses and disclosures of PHI and gives patients the right to obtain a copy of the PHI that is held by their healthcare providers. HealthIT can be used to help patients access their PHI. Many healthcare providers now allow patients to access some or all of their health information via patient portals. If only partial information is available through a patient portal, patients can still exercise their right to obtain all PHI in a designated record set held by their healthcare providers by submitting a request in writing.
Is PHI health app HIPAA?
If a physician recommends a PHI health app be used by a patient , such as for tracking BMI or heart rate data, the information is not subject to HIPAA Rules as the app was not created for the physician.
What is Considered Protected Health Information Under HIPAA Law?
If you work in healthcare or are considering doing business with healthcare clients that requires access to health data , you will need to know what is considered protected health information under HIPAA law. The HIPAA Security Rule demands that safeguards be implemented to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of PHI, while the HIPAA Privacy Rule places limits the uses and disclosures of PHI.
What is PHI?
PHI is any health information that can be tied to an individual, which under HIPAA means protected health information includes one or more of the following 18 identifiers. If these identifiers are removed the information is considered de-identified protected health information, which is not subject to the restrictions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
What is the difference between PHI and EPHI?
PHI relates to physical records, while ePHI is any PHI that is created, stored, transmitted, or received electronically. PHI only relates to information on patients or health plan members. It does not include information contained in educational and employment records, that includes health information maintained by a HIPAA covered entity in its ...
What are the requirements for HIPAA?
HIPAA requires physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to be implemented. Technologies such as encryption software and firewalls are covered under technical safeguards. Physical safeguards for PHI data include keeping physical records and electronic devices containing PHI under lock and key. Administrative safeguards include access controls to limit who can view PHI information. It is a requirement that staff are provided HIPAA security awareness training.
What is the HIPAA security rule?
The HIPAA Security Rule requires covered entities to protect against reasonably anticipated threats to the security of PHI. Covered entities must implement safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of PHI, although HIPAA is not technology specific and the exact safeguards that should be implemented are left to the discretion of the covered entity.
When is PHI considered PHI?
PHI is only considered PHI when an individual could be identified from the information. If all identifiers are stripped from health data, it ceases to be protected health information and the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s restrictions on uses and disclosures no longer apply.
How many people are in a zip code?
Bureau of the Census: the geographic unit formed by combining all zip codes with the same three initial digits contains more than 20,000 people; and the initial three digits of a zip code for all such geographic units containing 20,000 or fewer people is changed to 000
What is Protected Health Information?
Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ll know that HIPAA Compliance is all about ensuring the sanctity, integrity, and security of Protected Health Information or as it is more commonly known, PHI. But what is PHI? Why is it so important that it is kept under lock and key, and only disclosed when it is considered necessary?
What is the HIPAA security rule?
Become HIPAA Compliant. The HIPAA Security Rule requires organizations to take proactive measures against threats to the sanctity of PHI. Organizations must implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the PHI under their care.
What is accountable in HIPAA?
Accountable was founded with the goal of making HIPAA compliance achievable by creating a framework that will make training employees, adopting applicable policies and procedures, and identifying risk in your organization simple so that you can spend your time focusing on your business, not fretting about threats. We’re so confident that we can meet your needs that you can try it for free.
What is PHI in medical terms?
PHI in Electronic Form: ePHI. When PHI is found in an electronic form, like a computer or a digital file, it is called electronically Protected Health Information or ePHI. This is PHI that is transferred, received, or simply saved in an electronic form. ePHI was first described in the HIPAA Security Rule and organizations were instructed ...
How many identifiers are there for PHI?
HIPAA has laid out 18 identifiers for PHI. If a record contains any one of those 18 identifiers, it is considered to be PHI. If the record has these identifiers removed, it is no longer considered to be Protected Health Information and it is no longer under the restrictions defined by the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
How long does it take to recover from a PHI breach?
The results of a breach of PHI can be far worse than financial fraud, as they can take months or even years before they are detected. Identity theft can take years to recover from. Additionally, the penalties of a HIPAA violation can be quite severe and even crippling to an organization.
How to ensure that your staff is aware of cybercriminals?
Conduct regular employee HIPAA training as well as awareness programs to ensure that your staff are aware of the tactics deployed by cybercriminals, as well as more mundane and traditional methods of protecting data.
What is national privacy standards?
Set national privacy standards for when a patient's protected health information can be used and disclosed, Allow for easier access by patients to receive care seamlessly among various providers while having protections, and Set standards and requirements for the security of electronic transmission of health information
What is the code of ethics?
Code of ethics, gift of trust, maintain that trust, serve the patient in a private and confidential manner
Can you take PHI home with you?
Don't take PHI home with you , if granted access, may be able to get remote access to EMAR, deidentify patient if need to take home for case presentation
Is the CEI violation HIPAA?
CEI says this is NOT a HIPAA violation. Rotation manual says it is.
Does CMS allow texting?
CMS allows texting of patient information on a secured platform but not for patient orders
Can you give someone a copy of your book?
NO, don't give it out, and don't write it down where others can find
What Is Considered PHI Under HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) catered initially to health care insurance for the unemployed. It has evolved further within the past decade, granting patients free access to their own data. HIPAA also carefully regulates the coordination of storing and sharing of this information.
When Is PHI Disclosure Required?
With cybercrime on the rise, any suspected PHI violation will come under careful scrutiny and can attract hefty fines.
What Can PHI Be Used For?
For those of us lacking in criminal intent, it’s worth understanding how patient data can be used for profit. This knowledge can make us that much more vigilant when it comes to this valuable information.
What is PHI in healthcare?
Broadly speaking, PHI is health or medical data linked to an individual. This information must have been divulged during a healthcare process to a covered entity. There are currently 18 key identifiers detailed by the US Department of Health and Human Services. They are:
What are business associates?
By way of example, business associates would include: 1 Vendors that store, transmit, or document PHI electronically or otherwise 2 Developers that create apps or software which accesses PHI 3 Any person or organization that provides a product or service to a covered entity and involves access to PHI
What is the benefit of wearable devices?
Wearable Devices. As technology progresses and the healthcare industry benefits from big data, other pieces of information are frequently collected and used, for example, in health statistics. Mobile health tracking apps on smartphones or on wearable devices can collect enormous amounts of data on an individual.
What is a covered entity?
Any person or organization that provides a product or service to a covered entity and involves access to PHI. Covered entities should have bullet-proof Business Associate Agreements in place which will serve to keep both parties safe and on the right side of the law. Staying Compliant.
What does a clinic nurse leave on a patient's voice mail?
A. A clinic nurse leaves message on patient's voice mail with appointment date
Is PHI shared with others?
A. PHI is not shared with others in any circumstances
