which of the following is protected health information course hero

What is protected health information?

Protected health information is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations and applies to health records, but not education records which are covered by other federal regulations, and neither employment records. In the case of an employee-patient, protected health information does not include information held on...

When is individually identifiable information (IEO) protected 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. There are 18 identifiers that can be used to identify, contact, or locate a person.

When is Phi no longer considered to be protected health information?

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)

What is de-identified protected health information under HIPAA?

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.

Would patient information such as “Mrs. Green from Miami” be considered PHI?

Although there could be thousands of Mrs. Greens in Miami, there is likely to be fewer Mrs. Kawtowskis in Maryland. As it would be impractical for...

What are allowable uses and disclosures of PHI?

Without an authorization from the patient, a covered entity is only allowed to use and disclose a patient´s PHI for its own treatment, payment, and...

What are incidental uses and disclosures of PHI?

Incidental uses and disclosures of PHI are those that occur accidentally as a by-product of another allowable use or disclosure. Provided the cover...

Can you provide an example of an incidental disclosure?

An example of an incidental disclosure is when an employee of a business associate walks into a covered entity´s facility and recognizes a patient...

Would a personal wearable device such as a step counter be considered a PHI health app?

Unless the personal wearable device collects, uses, and/or stores data, and that data is transmitted to - or downloaded at - a physician´s office o...

Who can disclose protected health information without prior written approval?

A covered entity is allowed under the privacy rule to disclose protected health information to the patient or authorized representative without prior written approval.

What is the purpose of a physician's personal information?

This personal information will be used to evaluate your condition and develop a treatment plan if necessary. There may be numerous individuals in the office with access to the data, however they are considered covered entities as they are participants in your treatment and care.

What is PHI in medical terms?

PHI is a broad term that includes any past, present or future information regarding evaluation, treatment, or medical services in which there is personally identifiable information on file. This includes mental and physical health services, as well as laboratory and complementary health services. Also included in this definition is any payment information related to past, present, or future medical services.

What is the HIPAA form?

When an individual visits a medical facility, they fill out intake forms which include a notice of the facilities privacy practices under HIPAA. The patient must sign a form authorizing the facility to use their personal information in order to perform services and submit bills for services rendered.

What is PHI in healthcare?

Basically, if there is the ability to personally identify the patient based on information stored or transmitted in the above situations, this qualifies as PHI.

What is de-identified information?

De-identified means that there is no longer any information that could reasonably be used to identify the patient. This can be done by removing the personally identifiable information, including information about other members of the patient's family. This includes unique information, such as insurance identification numbers, as well as information about the patient's employer, recent medical services rendered, or medications prescribed.

Why do medical practices conduct periodic reviews of patient records?

Scenario 3 – A medical practice must conduct periodic reviews of patient records in order to ensure that the best possible care is being administered by the facility. Reviews of medical records, as well as physician diagnosis and treatment plans and eventual outcomes, may be conducted in an effort to evaluate medical staff and the overall level of care.

What is protected health information?

Under HIPAA, protected health information is considered to be individually identifiable information relating to the past, present, or future health status of an individual that is created, collected, or transmitted, or maintained by a HIPAA-covered entity in relation to the provision of healthcare, ...

What is PHI in HIPAA?

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 ...

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.

Why are covered entities and business associates required to conduct frequent risk analyses?

All covered entities and business associates are required to conduct frequent risk analyses in order to identify threats to the integrity of PHI. If the threats could be reasonably anticipated, covered entities and business associates have to implement measures to protect against the threats, or mitigate the consequences if the threats were to materialize.

What are some examples of health data that is not considered 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) Heart rate readings w/out PII.

What is PHI in healthcare?

In order for health data to be considered PHI and regulated by HIPAA it needs to be two things: Personally identifiable to the patient. Used or disclosed to a covered entity during the course of care. Examples of PHI: Billing information from your doctor. Email to your doctor's office about a medication or prescription you need.

What is a healthcare clearinghouse?

A Healthcare Clearinghouse takes in PHI from a healthcare entity, puts the data into a standard format, and then outputs the information to another entity. They need to be HIPAA compliant too.

Why is it important to determine whether an application collects PHI or not?

For developers, determining whether an application collects PHI or not is critical to determining whether HIPAA compliance requirements need to be met or not. So how do you know if you're dealing with protected health information (PHI) or consumer health information?

What is PHI in insurance?

PHI also includes billing information and any patient-identifiable information in a health insurance company's computer system. Protected Health Information is the definition used by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to define the type of patient information that falls under the jurisdiction of the law.

What are healthcare providers?

Healthcare Providers are exactly who you think of: hospitals, doctors, clinics, psychologists, dentists, chiropractors, nursing homes, and pharmacies. All of these entities are considered Healthcare Providers and need to be HIPAA compliant.

What is a covered entity?

A covered entity is anyone who provides treatment, payment and operations in healthcare.According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Healthcare Providers, Health Plans, and Healthcare Clearinghouses are all Covered Entities. Covered entities use PHI as part of their patient care.

What is HIPAA protected health information?

The HIPAA Privacy Rule protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information, called protected health information (PHI), as explained in the Privacy Rule and here - PDF - PDF. The Security Rule protects a subset of information covered by the Privacy Rule, which is all individually identifiable ...

What was the HIPAA prior to?

Prior to HIPAA, no generally accepted set of security standards or general requirements for protecting health information existed in the health care industry. At the same time, new technologies were evolving, and the health care industry began to move away from paper processes and rely more heavily on the use of electronic information systems to pay claims, answer eligibility questions, provide health information and conduct a host of other administrative and clinically based functions.

What is the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule?

1 To fulfill this requirement, HHS published what are commonly known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security Rule. The Privacy Rule, or Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, establishes national standards for the protection of certain health information. The Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information (the Security Rule) establish a national set of security standards for protecting certain health information that is held or transferred in electronic form. The Security Rule operationalizes the protections contained in the Privacy Rule by addressing the technical and non-technical safeguards that organizations called “covered entities” must put in place to secure individuals’ “electronic protected health information” (e-PHI). Within HHS, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has responsibility for enforcing the Privacy and Security Rules with voluntary compliance activities and civil money penalties.

What is the summary of the HIPAA security rule?

This is a summary of key elements of the Security Rule including who is covered, what information is protected, and what safeguards must be in place to ensure appropriate protection of electronic protected health information. Because it is an overview of the Security Rule, it does not address every detail ...

What is the HITECH Act?

The HITECH Act of 2009 expanded the responsibilities of business associates under the HIPAA Security Rule. HHS developed regulations to implement and clarify these changes. See additional guidance on business associates.

What is the Privacy Rule?

The Privacy Rule, or Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, establishes national standards for the protection of certain health information. The Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information (the Security Rule) establish a national set of security standards for protecting certain ...

What is the goal of the Security Rule?

A major goal of the Security Rule is to protect the privacy of individuals’ health information while allowing covered entities to adopt new technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care.