Review the types of data that are considered protected health information (PHI)

Protected Health Information (PHI) is defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as “any individually identifiable health information held or transmitted in any form or medium.” PHI includes a wide range of data points related to individual patients, including all medical records, laboratory results, insurance claims, demographic data and other personally identifiable information (Kreps & Bochenek 2016). HIPAA was established to provide protections for the privacy and security of PHI in order to ensure that individuals have control over how their private health information is used.