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Protected Health Information (PHI)

What is Protected Health Information (PHI)?

Under HIPAA, any individually identifiable health information that is created, received, maintained, or transmitted by a covered entity or business associate. PHI includes medical records, billing information, and any health-related data linked to an individual.

Compliance

Each of these is named in at least one of the same controls as protected health information (phi). The number is how many controls name both.

What the standards actually require on protected health information (phi)

Requirements naming protected health information (phi) across 3 standards, quoted from the control text.

HITECH Act1 control

HITECH Act statutory scope + structure. ENACTMENT: Title XIII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, Public Law 111-5) signed 17 February 2009 + entered into force phased;

HITECH-Scope-ARRA-XIII-42USC-Ch156-Subtitles · HITECH Act Statutory Scope, ARRA Title XIII Origin and 42 USC Chapter 156 Structure (Subtitles A through D)
MARS-E1 control

Protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) handled by Exchanges. Apply NIST 800-122 PII Confidentiality Impact Level determination + minimum necessary standard for use disclosure and request + HIPAA Privacy Rule 45...

MARS-E-Privacy-PII-PHI-Minimum-Necessary-HIPAA-Privacy-Rule-NIST-800-122-45-CFR-164-Subpart-E · MARS-E Privacy + PII + PHI + Minimum Necessary + HIPAA Privacy Rule + NIST 800-122 + 45 CFR 164 Subpart E

Disclose and operate protected health information (PHI) data handling + storage confidentiality + transmission confidentiality and integrity per MDS2 DATA + STCF + TXCF + TXIG sections.

MDS2-PHI-Data-Handling-DATA-Storage-STCF-Transmission-TXCF-TXIG-Encryption-FIPS · MDS2 PHI Handling + DATA + STCF Storage + TXCF Transmission + TXIG Integrity + Encryption + FIPS

Questions people ask about protected health information (phi)

What is Protected Health Information (PHI)?
Under HIPAA, any individually identifiable health information that is created, received, maintained, or transmitted by a covered entity or business associate. PHI includes medical records, billing information, and any health-related data linked to an individual.
Why is Protected Health Information (PHI) important for compliance?
Protected Health Information (PHI) is a key concept in Compliance. Understanding protected health information (phi) helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Protected Health Information (PHI)?
Protected Health Information (PHI) appears in the requirement text of HITECH Act, MARS-E, MDS2 (Medical Device). Across these standards we have identified 3 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Protected Health Information (PHI)?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how protected health information (phi) applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 686 frameworks.

See how Protected Health Information (PHI) applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.