To be considered “de-identified”, ALL of the 18 HIPAA Identifiers must be removed from the data set. If a communication contains any of these identifiers, or parts of the identifier, such as initials, the data is to be considered “identified”. Any other characteristic that could uniquely identify the individual.Photographic image - Photographic images are not limited to images of the face.Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers.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).Address (all geographic subdivisions smaller than state, including street address, city county, and zip code).When personally identifiable information is used in conjunction with one’s physical or mental health or condition, health care, or one’s payment for that health care, it becomes Protected Health Information (PHI).

This information can be used to identify, contact, or locate a single person or can be used with other sources to identify a single individual. These are the 18 HIPAA Identifiers that are considered personally identifiable information. The HIPAA privacy rule sets forth policies to protect all individually identifiable health information that is held or transmitted.

Hipaa compliant voice recorder app