What is protected health information?

Protected Health Information (or PHI) is any information about a patient’s physical or mental health condition that could identify the patient. This information can be in different forms:

·          Electronic

·          Paper

·          Oral

Example: You are at the grocery store. Your cellular phone rings and you answer. It is the nurse supervisor who’s calling to say that Mr. X is coming home tomorrow from the hospital and will need you to visit him at 1PM.

—> It is okay to listen to what the nurse supervisor has to say and take mental note of it.

—> it is not okay to actually talk about the patient’s condition, address, phone number out loud in public.

Solution: If you need more information than what the nurse supervisor gave you, and you need to take notes, you can either:

—> Leave the grocery store to continue the conversation in a private setting, like your car.

—> Or, ask her if it is okay to call her right back when you’re done with what you are currently doing; shopping.