HIPAA Related Definitions
HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
ARRA – American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
HITECH – Health Information Technology and Clinical Health Act
Protected Health Information (PHI) – individually identifiable information related to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition, the provision of health care to an individual, or the past, present, or future payment for such health care, which is created or received by Baptist Health; may be in oral, written/printed or electronic form.
Examples – Oral
- Clinical conversations at nursing station
- Physician-family or physician-patient conversation at bedside
Examples – Written/printed
- Medical record
- Surgery schedule
- Billing statement
- Insurance claims
- Driver’s license
Examples – Electronic
- Electronic claim
- Digitally stored X-ray images
- Clinical photograph
- Patient information sent via text or email
ePHI – Electronic Protected Health Information
Breach – the unplanned possession, access, use, or release of “unsecured” PHI, except where an unauthorized person to whom the information is released would not reasonably have been able to remember the information.
Unsecured protected health information – PHI that is not secured through the use of a technology or methodology that renders it unusable, unreadable, or illegible, such as destruction and encryption.
Workforce member – employees, volunteers, trainees, physicians and other persons under the direct control of Baptist Health, whether paid or unpaid.
Business associate – a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities involving the use or disclosure of protected health information on Baptist Health’s behalf.
Business associate agreement – the agreement under which Baptist Health obtains satisfactory written contractual assurances from a business associate.
Use – the sharing, employment, application, utilization, examination, or analysis of PHI within Baptist Health.
Disclosure – release, transfer, provision of access to, or divulging of PHI outside of Baptist Health.