Is de-identified data still PHI?
And not sure 'opting out' of use of de-identified data is in the agreement.
Back to the technical aspects of this question. Is de-identified data still PHI? From what I've read on the
HHS website, the answer appears to be no. Health information has to be linkable to individual patients in order to be considered protected. The question that follows is what makes data linkable to an individual patient. The criteria for de-identification are discussed in the link.
Protected Health Information
The HIPAA Privacy Rule protects most ?individually identifiable health information? held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or medium, whether electronic, on paper, or oral. The Privacy Rule calls this information protected health information (PHI)2. Protected health information is information, including demographic information, which relates to:
the individual?s past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition,
the provision of health care to the individual, or
the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe can be used to identify the individual. Protected health information includes many common identifiers (e.g., name, address, birth date, Social Security Number) when they can be associated with the health information listed above.
For example, a medical record, laboratory report, or hospital bill would be PHI because each document would contain a patient?s name and/or other identifying information associated with the health data content.
By contrast, a health plan report that only noted the average age of health plan members was 45 years would not be PHI because that information, although developed by aggregating information from individual plan member records, does not identify any individual plan members and there is no reasonable basis to believe that it could be used to identify an individual.
The relationship with health information is fundamental. Identifying information alone, such as personal names, residential addresses, or phone numbers, would not necessarily be designated as PHI. For instance, if such information was reported as part of a publicly accessible data source, such as a phone book, then this information would not be PHI because it is not related to heath data (see above). If such information was listed with health condition, health care provision or payment data, such as an indication that the individual was treated at a certain clinic, then this information would be PHI.And, about the 'opt-out' question/comment. The opt-out clause is not there now, but Charlie@AC stated in 04/14/2014 Company Update -- EULA / BAA Communication that they will add it.
