Personally Identifiable Information (PII) has numerous official definitions, depending on what agency or state law/policy you read, but in general, it is defined as any information that can be used to identify an individual directly or indirectly, such as a name, email address, Social Security Number or IP address.
Sensitive PII (SPII) is generally defined as any PII that if lost, stolen, or disclosed without authorization could result in significant harm to an individual.
Federal agencies and States each have unique privacy protection laws concerning the protection of PII, (see U.S. State Comprehensive Privacy Law Comparison), and in most cases, additional protections such as end-to-end encryption are required for what is considered sensitive PII.
Protected Health Information (PHI) is a specific type of Sensitive PII that is collected by a healthcare provider or other covered entity for the provision of healthcare services. This information is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which requires HIPAA-covered entities and their business associates to implement specific technical and operational safeguards to protect PHI.
Identification
The PII, Sensitive PII, and PHI identification charts below were compiled from information gathered from the Department of Homeland Security’s Handbook for Safeguarding Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
- Home Address
- IP Address
- Name
- Phone Number
- Any other information that can uniquely identify someone
Sensitive PII (SPII)
Stand-Alone
- Alien registration number
- Biometric identifiers
- Credit card number
- Driver's license or state ID number
- Financial account number
- Passport number
- Social Security number (SSN)
Any PII Combined With the Following
- Account passwords
- Citizenship or immigration status
- Criminal history
- Date of Birth (DOB)
- Last 4 digits of the SSN
- Mother's maiden name
- Ethnic or religious affiliation
- Medical information
- Personal financial information
- Sexual orientation
- Any other information which if lost, compromised, or disclosed without authorization, could result in substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an individual
Protected Health Information (PHI)
Health Information (physical, electronic, or spoken) + Identifier + collected by a HIPAA-Covered Entity or School or University or Employer or Business Associate of a HIPAA-Covered Entity + in relation to the provision of healthcare or payment for healthcare services.
Health Information
- Allergies
- Medications
- Family medical history
- Health histories
- Health records
- Lab test results
- Medical bills
- Past, present, and future health conditions or physical/mental health
- Prognosis
- Treatment/Rehabilitation plans
- X-rays
- Any other information about a person's health
Identifiers
- Account numbers
- Biometric identifiers (retinal scan, fingerprints)
- Certificate/license numbers
- Dates, except the year
- Device identifiers and serial numbers
- Email addresses
- Fax numbers
- Geographic data
- Full-face photos and comparable images
- Internet protocol addresses
- Health plan beneficiary numbers
- Medical record numbers
- Names
- Social Security numbers
- Telephone numbers
- Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers including license plates
- Web URLs
- Any unique identifying number or code
HIPAA-Covered Entities
- Most health care providers: Doctors, Clinics, Psychologists, Dentists, Chiropractors, Nursing homes, Pharmacies
- Health insurance companies
- HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations)
- Employer-sponsored health plans
- Government programs that pay for health care - such as Medicare, Medicaid, and military and veterans’ health programs
- Clearinghouses: organizations that process nonstandard health information to conform to standards for data content or format, or vice versa, on behalf of other organizations
Business Associates of HIPAA-Covered Entities
- Data analysis, storage, and transmission services
- Legal and accounting services
- Billing and benefit management services
- Actuarial and claims processing services
- Any other businesses that perform activities that require them to have access to patient health information to provide services for or on behalf of health industry entities
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