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PHI (Protected Health Information)

Individually identifiable health information protected under HIPAA.

Complete Definition

Protected Health Information (PHI) is any individually identifiable health information held or transmitted by a covered entity or business associate in any form (electronic, paper, oral). PHI includes 18 identifiers such as names, dates, addresses, Social Security numbers, medical record numbers, and health plan beneficiary numbers. Under HIPAA, PHI must be protected with appropriate safeguards including encryption at rest and in transit, access controls, and audit logging. In Health Cloud, PHI fields should use field-level encryption and restricted access.

Key Points

  • 1Individually identifiable health information
  • 2Includes 18 HIPAA identifiers
  • 3Must be encrypted at rest and in transit
  • 4Requires access controls and audit trails
  • 5Covered by HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules