What does 'de-identification' of health information involve?

De-identification of health information involves the process of removing personal identifiers from the data, making it impossible to link the information back to a specific individual. This practice is essential for protecting patient privacy and ensuring compliance with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). When health information is de-identified, it can still be used for research, analysis, and other purposes without compromising patient confidentiality.

The other options do not accurately capture the essence of de-identification. Filing patient records for review involves organizing and cataloging records without altering the identifiable information. Archiving medical records pertains to storing them for future access and maintains the original data, which may include personal identifiers. Transferring records to electronic format simply refers to converting physical records into digital ones, which does not inherently involve removing identifiers.