In my practice of protecting Dental Practices and Dentists, I see a HUGE lack of understanding around the area of PHI (Protected Health Information)! And that is a BIG problem, since that is what HIPAA is really all about.
In a previous post (Here is the Silver Bullet of HIPAA Compliance) we briefly toured the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This time around we’re exploring wider and deeper. Remember, there are other Rules you have to comply with (and we’ll get to those rules). Lets take it one step at a time!
The Privacy Rule establishes regulations pertaining to the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information, or PHI. To understand what PHI is we need to know another common term, Individually Identifiable Health Information, or IIHI, which:
- Is created or received by a health care provider, plan, or clearinghouse; or healthcare provider; and
- Relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual (or payment for health care to the individual); and
- Identifies the individual or reasonable could be used to identify the individual.
Now, let's talk about what is PHI and what is NOT PHI....Click here to finish