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Governance, Risk, Audit & Privacy · Foundational

Protected Health Information (PHI)

Individually identifiable health information held or transmitted by a covered entity or business associate.

Definition

PHI relates to past, present, or future physical or mental health, provision of care, or payment, and identifies or could identify the individual. Electronic PHI (ePHI) is subject to the Security Rule. Employment records and education records covered by FERPA are excluded.

Example

A patient's name together with a diagnosis code in a billing file is PHI.

Exam tip

Health data held by a non-covered entity is not PHI under HIPAA, though other laws may apply.

Related terms