PHI meaning in Medical ?

Protected health information (PHI) under the U.S. law is any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that is created or collected by a Covered Entity (or a Business Associate of a Covered Entity), and can be linked to a specific individual. This is interpreted rather broadly and includes any part of a patient's medical record or payment history.

Instead of being anonymized, PHI is often sought out in datasets for de-identification before researchers share the dataset publicly. Researchers remove individually identifiable PHI from a dataset to preserve privacy for research participants.

There are many forms of PHI, with the most common being physical storage in the form of paper-based personal health records (PHR). Other types of PHI include electronic health records, wearable technology, and mobile applications. In recent years, there has been a growing number of concerns regarding the safety and privacy of PHI.