Overview#

Health information is apparently any data related to HealthCare and depends on the context.

Health information may refer to:

• Protected Health Information (PHI)
• Personal Health Record (PHR)
• Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
• Electronic Health Record (EHR)
• Health Dataset
• Patient Data

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)#

HIPAA defines Health information as any information (data), including Genetic Data, whether oral or recorded in any form or medium, that:

• (1) Is created or received by a
  • Health Care Provider,
  • health plan,
  • public health authority,
  • employer,
  • life insurer,
  • school or university,
  • health care clearinghouse
• (2) Relates to the:
  • past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual;
  • provision of HealthCare to an individual;
  • the past, present, or future payment for the provision of HealthCare to an individual.

Health information - Portability FAILURE#

"HIPAA recognizes the importance of providing individuals with portability of their data. With limited exceptions, the HIPAA Privacy Rule provides individuals with a right, upon request, to see and receive copies of information in their medical and other health records (a "designated record set") maintained by a HIPAA Covered Entity covered entity, such as an individual’s healthcare provider or health plan. At the direction of an individual or personal representative, a HIPAA Covered Entity must transmit health information about the individual directly to any person or designated entity within 30 days (with the possibility of one 30-day extension)".

However, the reality is that at a time when many insurers and Health information technology companies are busily assembling databases of hundreds of millions of medical records, Americans find it difficult to get access to their own.

If you try to get yours, be prepared for:

• confusing policies
• ill-informed staff
• wasted time
• high costs

Even then, you may not get the records you seek. And all of this is at odds with your federal rights.

"Last week a relative of mine relayed a typical story. She requested her medical records in digital format, a right endorsed in federal statutes. Now, two months later, she is still struggling to get them. The hospital had contracted with a third party, and evidently this company transacts only through snail mail." [2]

"In a study published last fall, we surveyed 83 top American hospitals and found discrepancies were common between the policies hospitals described on patient authorization forms and what employees later said to patients on the phone."

More Information#

There might be more information for this subject on one of the following:

• CEN TC 251
• Data Classification
• Electronic Fitness Device
• Electronic Health
• Electronic Health Record
• Federal Health Care Law
• HIPAA Privacy Rule
• Health Dataset
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• Health information
• NATE
• Personal Health Record
• Who Owns the Data

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• [#1] - The HIPAA Privacy Rule - based on information obtained 2017-07-27
• [#2] - Opinion: It's Your Right To See Your Medical Records. It Shouldn't Be This Hard To Do - based on information obtained 2019-09-02
• [#3] - HIPAA gives you important rights to access to your medical record - based on information obtained 2019-09-02
• [#4] - Your Medical Records - based on information obtained 2019-09-02