Health information that cannot identify an individual is termed as?

Health information that cannot identify an individual is referred to as de-identified information. This term signifies that all personal identifiers have been removed or altered so that the data cannot be traced back to a specific individual. This process is crucial in the healthcare field, particularly to protect patient privacy and comply with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). By removing identifiers, healthcare providers and researchers can use health data for analysis, reporting, and improving care without compromising patient confidentiality.

Other terms such as privacy information, general health data, and identifiable health data do not accurately capture this concept. Privacy information typically refers to data that includes personal identifiers and is subject to specific protections. General health data may not specify whether the information is identifiable or de-identified. Identifiable health data, as the term suggests, includes information that can be linked back to an individual, thereby compromising the anonymity that de-identified data preserves.