ePHI
What Does ePHI Stand For?
ePHI stands for electronic Protected Health Information. It is a term used under HIPAA in the United States to describe protected health information that is created, received, stored, or transmitted electronically. This can include digital patient records, lab results, referral documents, appointment details, clinical notes, billing information, diagnostic images, secure messages, and email messages, including attachments, that contain identifiable patient information. Basically, ePHI is patient information in digital form.
For organizations researching HIPAA compliance Canada, ePHI is an important term to understand because it often appears in HIPAA-related privacy, security, and healthcare compliance materials.
What counts as ePHI?
In a HIPAA context, ePHI may include any identifiable patient health information that is stored, sent, or received electronically.
Examples can include:
- Electronic medical records
- Digital dental records
- Lab results
- Referral documents
- Diagnostic images
- Prescription information
- Appointment details connected to a patient
- Billing or insurance information
- Secure messages containing patient information
- Email attachments with identifiable health data
If the information relates to a person’s health, care, treatment, or payment for healthcare, and it can identify the patient, it may be considered ePHI under HIPAA.
Is ePHI used in Canada?
The term ePHI is not usually the primary legal term used in Canada, since the rules are applied to all patient information regardless of format. That said, Canadian healthcare providers may still encounter ePHI when working with US healthcare organizations, serving US patients, using software vendors that operate in both Canada and the US, reviewing HIPAA-related compliance training, or evaluating healthcare technology platforms.
This is one reason HIPAA compliance Canada is a common search phrase. Canadian providers may see HIPAA terms in vendor materials and wonder whether those terms apply locally.
In most cases, Canadian healthcare providers should translate the concept into the Canadian context: How are we protecting electronic patient information under the laws and expectations that apply to us?
Related Terms
Two Factor Authentication
End-to-End Encryption
Privacy Policy