The following are considered identifiers under the HIPAA safe harbor rule: (A) Names; (B) All geographic subdivisions smaller than a State, including street address, city, county, precinct, zip code, and their equivalent geocodes, except for the initial three digits of a zip code if, according to the current publicly available data from the Bureau of the Census: Alternatively, the expert also could require additional safeguards through a data use agreement. A general workflow for expert determination is depicted in Figure 2. For instance, voter registration registries are free in the state of North Carolina, but cost over $15,000 in the state of Wisconsin. During the year of this event, it is highly possible that this occurred for only one individual in the hospital (and perhaps the country). Medical records are comprised of a wide range of structured and unstructured (also known as “free text”) documents. Thus, an important aspect of identification risk assessment is the route by which health information can be linked to naming sources or sensitive knowledge can be inferred. § 164.514 Other requirements relating to uses and disclosures of protected health information. What is a Business Associate? Therefore, the data would not have satisfied the de-identification standard’s Safe Harbor method. A first class of identification risk mitigation methods corresponds to suppression techniques. HIPAA defines a covered entity as 1) a health care provider that conducts certain standard administrative and financial transactions in electronic form; 2) a health care clearinghouse; or 3) a health plan.3  A business associate is a person or entity (other than a member of the covered entity’s workforce) that performs certain functions or activities on behalf of, or provides certain services to, a covered entity that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information. In line with this guidance from NIST, a covered entity may disclose codes derived from PHI as part of a de-identified data set if an expert determines that the data meets the de-identification requirements at §164.514(b)(1). Following the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Regulations were updated to include new operating rules specifying the information that must be included for all HIPAA transactions. A higher risk “feature” is one that is found in many places and is publicly available. Of course, the specific details of such an agreement are left to the discretion of the expert and covered entity. November 27, 2018. HIPAA uses three unique identifiers for covered entities who use HIPAA regulated administrative and financial transactions. The Bureau of the Census provides information regarding population density in the United States. The covered entity does not use or disclose the code or other means of record identification for any other purpose, and does not disclose the mechanism for re-identification. As a result, the event was reported in the popular media, and the covered entity was aware of this media exposure. Finally, as noted in the preamble to the Privacy Rule, the expert may also consider the technique of limiting distribution of records through a data use agreement or restricted access agreement in which the recipient agrees to limits on who can use or receive the data, or agrees not to attempt identification of the subjects. The re-identification provision in §164.514(c) does not preclude the transformation of PHI into values derived by cryptographic hash functions using the expert determination method, provided the keys associated with such functions are not disclosed, including to the recipients of the de-identified information. This guidance is intended to assist covered entities to understand what is de-identification, the general process by which de-identified information is created, and the options available for performing de-identification. For instance, it is simple to discern when a feature is a name or a Social Security Number, provided that the fields are appropriately labeled. A Business Associate is a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities regulated by the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Rules that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information for a Covered Entity. Several broad classes of methods can be applied to protect data. Ages that are explicitly stated, or implied, as over 89 years old must be recoded as 90 or above. The HIPAA privacy rule sets forth policies to protect all individually identifiable health information that is held or transmitted. These are the 18 HIPAA Identifiers that are considered personally identifiable information. Covered entities should not, however, rely upon this listing or the one found in the August 14, 2002 regulation if more current data has been published. Thus, by relying on the statistics derived from the data set, the expert will make a conservative estimate regarding the uniqueness of records. In general, the protections of the Privacy Rule apply to information held by covered entities and their business associates. Suppression of an entire feature may be performed if a substantial quantity of records is considered as too risky (e.g., removal of the ZIP Code feature). De-identification is more efficient and effective when data managers explicitly document when a feature or value pertains to identifiers. If a covered entity or business associate successfully undertook an effort to identify the subject of de-identified information it maintained, the health information now related to a specific individual would again be protected by the Privacy Rule, as it would meet the definition of PHI. First, the expert will determine if the demographics are independently replicable. In the past, there has been no correlation between ZIP codes and Census Bureau geography. This would not be consistent with the intent of the Safe Harbor method, which was to provide covered entities with a simple method to determine if the information is adequately de-identified. The first two rows (i.e., shaded light gray) and last two rows (i.e., shaded dark gray) correspond to patient records with the same combination of generalized and suppressed values for Age, Gender, and ZIP Code. Such codes or other means of record identification assigned by the covered entity are not considered direct identifiers that must be removed under (R) if the covered entity follows the directions provided in §164.514(c). (2)(i) The following identifiers of the individual or of relatives, employers, or household members of the individual, are removed: (B) All geographic subdivisions smaller than a state, including street address, city, county, precinct, ZIP code, and their equivalent geocodes, except for the initial three digits of the ZIP code if, according to the current publicly available data from the Bureau of the Census: This is because of a second condition, which is the need for a naming data source, such as a publicly available voter registration database (see Section 2.6). (1) A person with appropriate knowledge of and experience with generally accepted statistical and scientific principles and methods for rendering information not individually identifiable: A covered health care provider, health plan, or health care clearinghouse can be a business associate of another covered entity. Protected Health Information Definition. Many records contain dates of service or other events that imply age. Example Scenario 2 the individual’s past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition, the provision of health care to the individual, or. In an effort to make this guidance a useful tool for HIPAA covered entities and business associates, we welcome and appreciate your sending us any feedback or suggestions to improve this guidance. Without such a data source, there is no way to definitively link the de-identified health information to the corresponding patient. Inability to design such a relational mechanism would hamper a third party’s ability to achieve success to no better than random assignment of de-identified data and named individuals. The 18 HIPAA Identifiers. HIPAA requires that employers have standard national numbers that identify them on standard transactions. Which of the following are valid identifiers and why/why not : Data_rec, _data, 1 data, datal, my.file, elif, switch, lambda, break ? There are many potential identifying numbers. This means that a covered entity has actual knowledge if it concludes that the remaining information could be used to identify the individual. However, experts have recognized that technology, social conditions, and the availability of information changes over time. An expert may find all or only one appropriate for a particular project, or may use another method entirely. http://www.ciesin.org/pdf/SEDAC_ConfidentialityReport.pdf, http://health.utah.gov/opha/IBIShelp/DataReleasePolicy.pdf, http://www.doh.wa.gov/Data/guidelines/SmallNumbers.htm, http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/special/research/index.html, Frequently Asked Questions for Professionals. Choose which is not a valid identifier in the following? Dates associated with test measures, such as those derived from a laboratory report, are directly related to a specific individual and relate to the provision of health care. Example 2: Clear Familial Relation To clarify what must be removed under (R), the implementation specifications at §164.514(c) provide an exception with respect to “re-identification” by the covered entity. HIPAA is an acronym that stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. my.file – Periods are not allowed . Table 3 illustrates this last type of suppression by showing how specific values of features in Table 2 might be suppressed (i.e., black shaded cells). If a communication contains any of these identifiers, or parts of the identifier, such as initials, the data is to be considered “identified”. If they are considered a covered entity under HIPAA; Question 9 - Which of the following is NOT true regarding a Business Associate contract: Is required between a Covered Entity and Business Associate if PHI will be shared between the two What is a Business Associate? Covered entities may include the first three digits of the ZIP code if, according to the current publicly available data from the Bureau of the Census: (1) The geographic unit formed by combining all ZIP codes with the same three initial digits contains more than 20,000 people; or (2) the initial three digits of a ZIP code for all such geographic units containing 20,000 or fewer people is changed to 000. De-identifying health information requires the following 18 identifiers to be removed from the data set prior to sharing: Full name or last name and initial(s) Geographical identifiers smaller than a state, except the initial three digits of a zip code, provided the combination of … The principles should serve as a starting point for reasoning and are not meant to serve as a definitive list. Table 2 illustrates the application of such methods. You may file a report about misconduct and ethics or policy violations, Center for Student Assistance and Advocacy, Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Application Development & System Integration, Instructional Technology & Research Support, Instructional Technology and Research Support, How to Keep Working - Technology Continuity, Acceptable Use Policy for Electronic University Resources, Address (all geographic subdivisions smaller than state, including street address, city county, and zip code), All elements (except years) of dates related to an individual (including birthdate, admission date, discharge date, date of death, and exact age if over 89), Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers. Professional scientists and statisticians in various fields routinely determine and accordingly mitigate risk prior to sharing data. First, the expert will evaluate the extent to which the health information can (or cannot) be identified by the anticipated recipients. As another example, an increasing quantity of electronic medical record and electronic prescribing systems assign and embed barcodes into patient records and their medications. In this example, we refer to columns as “features” about patients (e.g., Age and Gender) and rows as “records” of patients (e.g., the first and second rows correspond to records on two different patients). Invalid identifiers: 1 data – The first character shouldn’t be a number. One good rule to prevent unauthorized access to computer data is to _____. In this case, specific values are replaced with equally specific, but different, values. Must a covered entity use a data use agreement when sharing de-identified data to satisfy the Expert Determination Method? (1) The geographic unit formed by combining all ZIP codes with the same three initial digits contains more than 20,000 people; and This is because the resulting value would be susceptible to compromise by the recipient of such data. Further details can be found at http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/hash/. Healthcare providers must obtain and use a National Provider Identifier (NPI) issued by the National Provider System for all HIPAA standardized transactions. Example 3: Publicized Clinical Event To inspect and copy his or her health information b. However, HIPAA only applies to HIPAA-covered entities and their business associates, so if the device manufacturer or app developer has not been contracted by a HIPAA -covered entity or a business associate, the information recorded would not be considered PHI under HIPAA. The Privacy Rule does not limit how a covered entity may disclose information that has been de-identified. In this example, a covered entity would not satisfy the de-identification standard by simply removing the enumerated identifiers in §164.514(b)(2)(i) because the risk of identification is of a nature and degree that a covered entity must have concluded that the information could identify the patient. There has been confusion about what constitutes a code and how it relates to PHI. In developing this guidance, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) solicited input from stakeholders with practical, technical and policy experience in de-identification. Which of the following is not a patient right under HIPAA rules? See section 3.10 for a more complete discussion. In contrast, ZIP codes can change more frequently. A covered entity may use a business associate to de-identify PHI on its behalf only to the extent such activity is authorized by their business associate agreement. The covered entity, in other words, is aware that the information is not actually de-identified information. Figure 3. The intake notes for a new patient include the stand-alone notation, “Newark, NJ.”  It is not clear whether this relates to the patient’s address, the location of the patient’s previous health care provider, the location of the patient’s recent auto collision, or some other point. Notice that every age is within +/- 2 years of the original age. (2) Security. See the answer. Can an expert derive multiple solutions from the same data set for a recipient? Identifiers. (1) Is created or received by a health care provider, health plan, public health authority, employer, life insurer, school or university, or health care clearinghouse; and. This certification may be based on a technical proof regarding the inability to merge such data sets. (1) Derivation. (i) Applying such principles and methods, determines that the risk is very small that the information could be used, alone or in combination with other reasonably available information, by an anticipated recipient to identify an individual who is a subject of the information; and HIPAA PHI: List of 18 Identifiers and Definition of PHI List of 18 Identifiers 1. As the NPI is a 10-position, intelligence-free numeric identifier (10-digit number), it does not disclose other information about health care providers. When can ZIP codes be included in de-identified information? Demographic data is likewise regarded as PHI under HIPAA Rules, just like common identifiers including patient names, Driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, insurance information, and dates of birth, when they are used in combination with health information. Must a covered entity use a data use agreement when sharing de-identified data to satisfy the Safe Harbor Method? Utilizing 2000 Census data, the following three-digit ZCTAs have a population of 20,000 or fewer persons. This page provides guidance about methods and approaches to achieve de-identification in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. The following quiz is based on the HIPAA information you just reviewed. What are the approaches by which an expert mitigates the risk of identification of an individual in health information? Expert Answer … Identifiers are HIPAA standards that will create a uniform and centralized way to designate an employer, provider, health plan or patient in electronic transactions. Select one: A. This number comes as a replacement to Unique Physician Identification Number (UPIN), which is not going to be supported by CMS after complete NPI implementation.NPI was inforced in May 23rd 2007 and is mandatory for all Providers while filing HIPAA claim. Experts may design multiple solutions, each of which is tailored to the covered entity’s expectations regarding information reasonably available to the anticipated recipient of the data set. This table is devoid of explicit identifiers, such as personal names and Social Security Numbers. HIPAA required the Secretary to issue privacy regulations governing individually identifiable health information, if Congress did not enact privacy legislation within three years of the passage of HIPAA.
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