Overview

Understand.com provides patient education animations through an embeddable video player used by medical practices, hospitals, healthcare organizations, and healthcare websites.

Because these animations are often embedded on healthcare websites, Understand.com maintains a policy explaining how its player handles analytics, privacy, HIPAA-related considerations, and protected health information, also known as PHI.

Understand.com’s video player is designed for patient education. It does not diagnose patients, collect patient medical information, store health records, or connect video engagement data to a patient’s identity or medical history.

What This Page Covers

This page explains how Understand.com approaches:

• Protected health information, or PHI
• HIPAA-related concerns
• Google Analytics 4 usage
• Embedded video player analytics
• Cookies
• Technical usage data
• Patient privacy considerations
• Healthcare website implementation

It is intended for:

• Medical practices
• Hospitals and health systems
• Healthcare website developers
• Compliance teams
• Privacy officers
• Healthcare marketing teams
• Patient education teams
• Organizations evaluating Understand.com video libraries

What PHI Means

Protected health information, or PHI, generally refers to individually identifiable health information held or transmitted by a covered entity or business associate.

PHI may include information that relates to a person’s health condition, healthcare, or payment for healthcare when that information identifies the person or could reasonably be used to identify the person.

Understand.com’s embedded animation player is not designed to collect patient names, medical record numbers, diagnoses, appointment information, treatment plans, payment information, or other individually identifiable health information.

Understand.com’s Use of Analytics

Understand.com uses Google Analytics 4, also known as GA4, to understand how its embedded video player is used on client websites.

The purpose of analytics is to help Understand.com understand general usage patterns, improve player performance, evaluate engagement, and support product decisions.

The analytics are focused on general usage data and video player interactions, not patient identity or medical information.

Types of Data Collected

Understand.com may collect general analytics data related to video player usage.

This may include:

• Session duration
• Average engagement time
• Number of pages or embedded videos viewed during a session
• Bounce rate
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Screen resolution
• Approximate country and city
• Page view events
• Scroll events
• Click events
• First visit events
• Play button clicks
• Seekbar interactions
• Other basic player interaction events

This data helps Understand.com understand how the animation player is being used and how it performs across browsers, operating systems, devices, and embedded website environments.

Data Understand.com Does Not Track

Understand.com does not use its embedded player analytics to track, collect, or store PHI.

Understand.com does not track:

• Patient names
• Medical record numbers
• Diagnoses
• Appointment details
• Treatment plans
• Prescription information
• Insurance or payment information
• Health records
• Precise user location
• Age
• Gender
• Interests

Understand.com’s video player analytics are not designed to identify individual patients or connect video usage to a person’s medical history.

Google Analytics 4 and IP Addresses

Understand.com’s PHI policy states that Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses.

Understand.com uses GA4 for general analytics and player usage data. The purpose is to understand aggregate usage and technical behavior, not to identify patients.

Cookies

Understand.com’s video player uses cookies through Google Analytics 4 primarily to distinguish between new and returning users.

Understand.com’s PHI policy states that the video player does not use cookies outside of GA4.

Approximate Geographic Data

Understand.com may receive approximate geographic data such as country and city.

This geographic data is used to understand general usage patterns and is not intended to identify individual users. Understand.com’s PHI policy states that this location data is approximate and not precise enough to pinpoint specific users.

No PHI Collection Through GA4

Understand.com does not track, collect, or store PHI using Google Analytics 4.

The analytics focus on general usage data, technical information, and video player interactions. Understand.com does not link GA4 data to health records, patient identities, or personally identifiable medical information.

HIPAA Considerations

Understand.com’s animation player is used in healthcare contexts, including medical practice websites, hospital websites, and patient education pages.

Because of this, Understand.com designs its analytics practices to avoid collecting PHI through the embedded video player.

Understand.com’s policy focuses on limiting analytics to general, non-personal, aggregate usage data and technical information rather than patient-specific health information.

The accessibility, privacy, analytics, and compliance posture of the full website also depends on the website owner’s implementation, page content, forms, tracking tools, appointment flows, third-party scripts, consent tools, and privacy policies.

Understand.com’s embedded player can be part of a healthcare website, but the website owner remains responsible for evaluating the full website environment and applicable legal requirements.

Healthcare Website Implementation Notes

Healthcare organizations and website developers should consider the full page environment where Understand.com animations are embedded.

Recommended practices include:

• Do not place PHI in URLs, query strings, page titles, or iframe parameters
• Do not add patient identifiers to pages containing embedded videos
• Avoid embedding videos inside authenticated patient portals without appropriate review
• Review all third-party scripts used on the surrounding page
• Make sure appointment forms, contact forms, and tracking tools are configured appropriately
• Ensure the website’s privacy policy accurately describes analytics and tracking tools
• Coordinate with compliance, legal, or privacy teams when needed
• Avoid combining analytics data with patient-specific information
• Use clear page content that does not imply the player collects or stores patient medical information

These practices help keep the surrounding website implementation aligned with the intended use of Understand.com’s embedded player.

Difference Between Player Analytics and Patient Data

Understand.com’s embedded player analytics are designed to answer general product and usage questions, such as:

• Are visitors playing videos?
• Which player controls are used?
• How long are users engaging with the player?
• What browsers and devices are being used?
• Are users interacting with captions, chapters, transcripts, or playback controls?

The analytics are not designed to answer patient-specific questions, such as:

• Who is the patient?
• What diagnosis does the patient have?
• What treatment is the patient considering?
• What appointment did the patient schedule?
• What physician is treating the patient?
• What is in the patient’s medical record?

This distinction is important for understanding Understand.com’s approach to PHI and analytics.

Common Questions