S.C. Code Regs. § § 19-1101
Data Element: refers to any specific characteristic, usually encoded, describing a patient, the services provided to a patient or the health care facility, and/or the professional providing the services, during a medical encounter.
Encounter Level Data: refers to data gathered or organized by each contact between a patient and a health care professional in which care was given.
Health Care Facility: includes but is not limited to acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, alcohol and substance abuse hospitals, tuberculosis hospitals, nursing homes, kidney disease treatment centers, including freestanding hemodialysis centers, ambulatory surgical facilities, rehabilitation facilities, residential treatment facilities for children and adolescents, habitation centers for persons with intellectual disability or persons with related conditions, and any other freestanding facility offering services or special equipment for which Certificate of Need review is required by state law. For the purposes of this document, Home Health Agencies are included as defined by "Licensure of Home Health Agencies Act," as a public, nonprofit or proprietary organization, whether owned or operated by one or more persons or legal entities, which furnishes or offers to furnish home health services.
Health Care Facility Identifiers: the name, address, and/or identification number of a health care facility.
Health Care Insurer: includes but is not limited to domestic and foreign insurers providing accident and health insurance as defined by 38-1-20 of South Carolina Codes of laws, excluding federal and state insurers fund through public funds, including but not limited to, Medicare and Medicaid.
Health Care Insurer Identifiers: the name, address, and/or identification number of a health care insurer.
Health Care Professional: includes but is not limited to physician, physicians assistant, dentist, dental hygienist, dental technician, pharmacist, physical therapist, physical therapists assistant, optometrist, psychologist, respiratory care practitioner, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, podiatrist, occupational therapist or other health care professional registered or licensed and practicing in South Carolina.
Health Care Professional Identifiers: the name, address, and/or identification number of a health care professional.
Research: means a planned and systematic sociological, psychological, epidemiological, biomedical, economic or other scientific investigations carried out by a government agency, by a scientific research professional associated with a bona fide scientific research organization, by a graduate student currently enrolled in an advanced academic degree curriculum, or other organizations with bona fide research capabilities with an objective to contribute to scientific knowledge, the solution of social and health problems, or the evaluation of public benefit and service programs. This definition excludes methods of record analysis and data collections that are subjective, do not permit replication, and are not designed to yield reliable and valid results.
S.C. Code Regs. § 19-1101