What does "de-identified health information" refer to?

De-identified health information refers to medical data that has been stripped of all personal identifiers, meaning that it cannot be used to trace back to an individual. This process typically involves removing or obscuring information that could potentially identify a patient, such as names, Social Security numbers, addresses, and other identifying characteristics. The goal is to protect individual privacy while still allowing healthcare information to be utilized for research, analysis, or public health monitoring.

This approach is crucial for complying with regulations like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which aims to safeguard individual health information. When data is fully de-identified, it can be shared or published without the risk of compromising patient confidentiality.

The other options may imply some level of identification or protection that does not align with the definition of fully de-identified information. For instance, information linked to an individual without identifiers still presents a potential risk for re-identification, while identifiable health information and health information that is anonymized might not meet the strict criteria required for de-identification as outlined by HIPAA. Thus, the answer accurately captures the essence of what constitutes de-identified health information.