Redaction here means removing personal identifiers from a referral assessment. These pages hold dense personal history. The Data Protection Act 2018 and the NHS Code of Confidentiality govern these records. anonym.plus does the work on your machine.
When this applies
The document lists the client, an emergency contact, and a prior provider. You want to file a sample for staff training, fully de-identified.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the document in anonym.plus on your device.
- Local OCR reads scanned questionnaires too.
- It flags client and contact names, dates, and providers.
- Review each flag and keep the history fields.
- Replace each value with a label, or hide it.
- Save the clean copy. The source stays local.
What you need to provide
- The assessment file (PDF, DOCX, TXT, or scan).
- An operator: Replace, Redact, or Mask.
- Optional: a key map for re-linking.
Patient data entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Client | PERSON | Devon Pratt → [CLIENT_1] |
| Emergency contact | PERSON | sister Mara → [FAMILY_1] |
| Prior provider | ORGANIZATION | Hillcrest Mental Health Trust → [PROVIDER] |
| Visit date | DATE_TIME | Seen 22/01/2026 → [DATE] |
| Phone | PHONE_NUMBER | +44 7911 200173 → [PHONE] |
| NHS number | NHS_NUMBER | NHS 412 081 2345 → [NHS_NO] |
Compliance achieved
- Strips identifiers under DPA 2018 & NHS Code of Confidentiality.
- Local only, so no cloud processor contract is needed.
- Forms are protected with AES-256-GCM.
- Also meets UK GDPR Art. 9 for special-category health records.
Anonymise referral assessments offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
These documents gather more detail than later notes. The tool removes named identifiers. You still review long free-text answers for a stray clue before you share the copy.
Frequently asked questions
Why are referral assessments sensitive?
They collect a full history at once: contacts, prior care, and personal events. That density means more identifiers to catch, which the tool flags for you.
Are emergency contacts removed?
Yes. A named relative or friend is an identifier. The tool flags each so the client cannot be traced through a contact.
Does it use the cloud?
No. The app runs on your computer. Nothing is sent away.