Patient-history de-identification removes identifiers from the medical, social, and family parts of a file under UK GDPR Art. 9 and DPA 2018. anonym.plus runs locally, with care for the social and family parts that hold the most indirect clues.
When this applies
A full history is gold for teaching and research. But the social part (job, habits, place) and the family part (named kin, their illness) are dense with indirect clues that must go.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Load the file into anonym.plus on your device.
- It scans the medical, social, and family parts.
- Named kin, jobs, and places get flagged as indirect clues.
- Swap them so the story still flows.
- Save the clean history on your device.
What you need to provide
- The history file (DOCX, PDF, or EPR export).
- An operator (Replace keeps the story readable).
- Optional label map for family members.
Patient data entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | patient & kin → [NAME] |
| Location | LOCATION | miner, Barnsley → [LOCATION] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | smoker since 1998 → [DATE] |
| Relatives | PERSON | father, dx 2010 → [RELATIVE] |
| Record IDs | MEDICAL_RECORD_NUMBER | MRN → [MRN] |
| NHS Number | UK_NHS | NHS 943 476 5919 → [NHS_NO] |
Compliance achieved
- Supports UK GDPR Art. 9 & DPA 2018 across all parts.
- Catches job, place, and family clues as indirect identifiers.
- Local-only — a sensitive file is never uploaded.
Anonymise patient histories offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
The social and family parts are the hardest to fully clear. A rare job in a small town, or a named relative’s rare illness, can re-identify after direct identifiers go. Review these parts and apply the ICO motivated-intruder test for unusual cases.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the social and family parts riskier?
They hold indirect clues — jobs, places, named kin, and their illness — that can point to one person with no direct name or number.
Are the kin details removed too?
Yes. Named kin and their clues are flagged and swapped, since they are personal data inside the file.
Can the history still serve teaching?
Yes. The medical story stays. Only the identifying detail changes.