What best describes de-identified data in PMK practice?

• A. Data that contains identifiers but is used only internally.
• B. Data used for testing with fictitious client names.
• C. Data that has been de-identified to protect client privacy.
• D. Data that is publicly available.

Answer: (C)

De-identified data means removing or masking information that could identify a person so the data cannot be traced back to an individual. In PMK practice, this protects client privacy while still allowing the data to be analyzed or used for improvements, training, or reporting. Direct identifiers like names, addresses, and social numbers are eliminated, and other details that could enable re-identification are reduced or generalized.

That makes the description describing data that has been de-identified to protect client privacy the best fit. The other options either keep identifiable information, use data that isn’t real but wasn’t de-identified, or rely on data that’s publicly available, which may still raise privacy concerns.