A violation of PHI is considered a breach when:

A breach of Protected Health Information (PHI) is defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as an impermissible use or disclosure that compromises the security or privacy of the information. The essential factor in determining whether a breach has occurred revolves around the covered entity's assessment of the situation.

When a covered entity concludes that a breach has happened, they evaluate the nature of the information involved, who had access to it, and whether there is a reasonable probability that the PHI has been compromised. This assessment is crucial because it triggers a series of required actions, including notification to affected individuals, potential reporting to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other implications under the law.

In contrast, other options, such as the affected individual identifying their information as stolen or the event being reported to law enforcement, do not, by themselves, indicate that a breach has occurred. These scenarios may be part of the larger investigation but do not conclude the breach status. Likewise, breaches that occur during routine audits need further context to determine whether they meet the criteria for a breach under HIPAA regulations. Hence, the determination by the covered entity plays a vital role in officially categorizing an incident as a breach of PH