Definition[]
Personal health information (PHI) (also referred to as protected health information) is demographic information, medical history, test and laboratory results, insurance information and other data that is collected by a health care professional to identify an individual and determine appropriate care.
Overview[]
"[T]he following data elements associated with an individual — alone or in combination — are interpreted as PHI by many laws:
- Name, address (including just postal code), telephone and fax numbers
- E-mail addresses
- Medical insurance or Social Security/National Insurance numbers
- Any date more granular than year
- Information about beneficiaries
- Other (financial or otherwise) account numbers, license, vehicle or certificate numbers
- (Medical or otherwise salient) device or serial numbers
- Any associated Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or URL/URIs
- All biometric data (i.e., finger, retinal or voice prints and/or DNA)
- Full-facial photographic images or images that have unique identifying characteristics
- Medical records."[1]