What is the Difference Between "Uses" of PHI and "Disclosures" of PHI?

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The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Security permits the use or disclosure of certain PHI, while preventing the use or disclosure of other PHI.

What is the distinction between "Use" of PHI and "Disclosure" of PHI?

"Use" means, with respect to individually identifiable health information (IIHI), the sharing, employment, application, utilization, examination, or analysis of such information within an entity that maintains such information. An example of "use" of PHI would be the sharing of PHI between a doctor of a practice and a nurse of the same practice.

"Disclosure of PHI" means the release, transfer, provision of access to, or divulging in any manner of information outside the entity holding the information. A disclosure of PHI is the divulging of PHI from one entity to another.  Note that the transfer of protected health information from a covered entity to a business associate is a disclosure for purposes of HIPAA.

Protected health information (PHI) is a subset of individually identifiable health information (IIHI) that is:

1. Transmitted by electronic media; 

2. Maintained in electronic media; or 

3. Transmitted or maintained in any other form or medium.