Definition

PHI

PHI, or protected health information, is individually identifiable health data that HIPAA protects when a covered entity or its business associate creates, receives, or stores it. It covers diagnoses, treatment records, payment history, and any of the eighteen identifiers, from name to medical record number, that tie the data to a patient. PHI in electronic form, often called ePHI, falls under the HIPAA Security Rule and its safeguards. The key trigger is the link between health details and an identifiable person: strip every identifier through proper de-identification and the data leaves HIPAA's reach. That link is what your controls must protect.