Under HIPAA, what is considered "protected health information"?

The concept of "protected health information" (PHI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) specifically encompasses any health information that can identify an individual and is related to their physical or mental health, care, or payment for healthcare services. This designation is crucial for ensuring individuals' privacy and the confidentiality of their sensitive health information.

Identifiable health information includes various forms of data such as names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, and any other details that can be linked to a specific person. Therefore, the identification capability is a key factor that qualifies the information as "protected."

In contrast, data collected exclusively for research typically does not contain identifiers and may fall outside the realm of PHI unless it can be traced back to identifiable individuals. General health statistics published by agencies are usually aggregated and anonymized, thus devoid of personal identifiers and not considered PHI. Information on public health initiatives is related to broader public health objectives rather than individual health data, further excluding it from the PHI definition.