ephi

Electronic protected health information (ePHI) is protected health information that is created, stored, transmitted, or received electronically. Under the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), protected health information (PHI) includes any information that can identify an individual and relates to the individual’s health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care. When this information is in electronic form, it is designated as ePHI and is subject to additional safeguards.

Regulation and scope: The HIPAA Privacy Rule governs the use and disclosure of PHI, while the HIPAA Security Rule provides specific protections for ePHI. Examples of ePHI include electronic medical records, billing records, appointment systems, lab results, claims data, and payer information. ePHI may be stored on servers, in cloud environments, or on portable devices and media.

Safeguards: Compliance relies on administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. Administrative safeguards include risk analyses, security management processes, workforce training, and incident response. Physical safeguards address facility access, device security, and media controls. Technical safeguards cover access controls with unique user IDs, emergency access procedures, encryption or equivalent protections, audit controls, data integrity measures, and automatic logoff.

Breach and compliance: The HITECH Act expanded breach notification requirements for impermissible uses or disclosures of unsecured ePHI and encouraged the use of encryption and destruction of data to reduce risk. Unsecured PHI means PHI not rendered unreadable or unusable through encryption or destruction. Covered entities and business associates must implement safeguards, perform risk assessments, and provide breach notifications when required.