Response de-identification is the removal of the 18 HIPAA Safe Harbor IDs (45 CFR §164.514(b)) from a digital health questionnaire. anonym.plus runs offline and keeps the scored answers that drive outcome analysis.
When this applies
A patient-reported outcome survey collects scores plus the respondent's name, email, and free-text comments. For analysis, the personal parts go.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the answers in anonym.plus on your device.
- It finds names, emails, and clues in the comments.
- Scored items and rating scales stay in place.
- Swap or black out the confirmed personal parts.
- Save the clean results on your device.
What you need to provide
- The answers (CSV, JSON, PDF, or DOCX).
- An operator: Replace keeps the rows readable.
- Optional column map for ID fields.
PHI entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | respondent name → [RESPONDENT] |
| Contact | EMAIL_ADDRESS | reply email → [EMAIL] |
| Free text | PERSON | “my son Eli” → [RELATIVE] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | submit date → [DATE] |
| Identifiers | ID | respondent code → [ID] |
| Free text | LOCATION | “here in Galway” → [PLACE] |
Compliance achieved
- Strips all 18 ID classes for HIPAA Safe Harbor (45 CFR §164.514(b)).
- Catches clues inside free-text comments, not just ID columns.
- Fully offline — survey replies are never uploaded.
Anonymize health survey responses offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
Open comment boxes are the hard part, since a respondent may name a place, a job, or a relative. Review those boxes as you would any note. A rare answer combination can re-identify after direct IDs go.
Frequently asked questions
Are the comment boxes cleaned too?
Yes. Free-text comments are scanned for names, places, and other clues, not just the fixed ID columns.
Do the scores survive?
Yes. Scored items and scales stay, so outcome analysis runs while the personal parts are gone.
Can answers stay linkable for a longitudinal study?
Yes. A steady code map gives each respondent one alias across waves, with no real identity kept.