Anonymization
A False Choice
In the last ten years, use of advanced analytics has grown exponentially – and for good reason. The truly exciting thing about the world of healthcare analytics is that it can uncover opportunities for reduced costs that leave patients healthier and happier.
The HIPAA rules allow for use of healthcare data to gain these insights. Plans effectively have two choices. The first option called "Safe Harbor" details how data can be redacted and obscured so that if there was a breach, the it has been cleansed to a point where it would be impossible to tie it back to any individual. The bad news is that many of the insights that can be gained through analytics are also lost.
The second option is to just use PHI and then make sure to sign BAA agreements with vendors and others with access to the information. We think this represents a false choice and one that leads to more damaging breaches when they happen and potentially discouraging the ability and opportunities to find the most valuable insights. Opportunities exist to anonymize or de-identify the data to a degree where individuals are identifiable but not able to be traced back to the actual patient.
The EDI Project™ has created a product called "Don't Redact!" that allows PHI data to be anonymized automatically with a focus on EDI files. Personhood can be easily maintained when data comes from different data sources. If studies are being updated on an ongoing basis with data that not only comes in over time, but also may come from varying sources, Don't Redact! is a perfect tool to be sure that data is nearly impossible to tie back a patient found in the anonymized data to an actual patient in the real world. New data sets created are irreversibly anonymized. The product is quick to deploy and works with almost any kind of data input. Site licenses start at $25,000 making this hundreds of thousands of dollars less than competitive products. Please contact us to learn more.
