<P> Protected health information (PHI) under the US law is any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that is created or collected by a Covered Entity (or a Business Associate of a Covered Entity), and can be linked to a specific individual . This is interpreted rather broadly and includes any part of a patient's medical record or payment history . </P> <P> PHI is often sought out in datasets for de-identification before researchers share the dataset publicly . Researchers remove individually identifiable PHI from a dataset to preserve privacy for research participants . </P>

Types of data that are considered protected health information (phi)