Medication-list anonymisation is the removal of patient IDs from a current drug sheet. The sheet is special-category health data under UK GDPR Art. 9(1), and Caldicott principle 3 asks you to use the minimum necessary for the purpose. anonym.plus does this locally, so the medicines stay readable while the file no longer names the person.
When this applies
A current sheet ties many medicines to one named individual. A class handout or a study set needs the regimen only — and once the copy is out, you cannot pull it back, so it has to be clean before it leaves your hands.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the file in anonym.plus on your device.
- It scans for the name, dates, NHS number, and contacts.
- Local OCR reads scanned sheets, so printed text is caught.
- Confirm the flags; the medicine names are not IDs and stay.
- Swap each ID for a label, or black it out.
- Save the clean copy; the source stays on your machine.
What you need to provide
- The file (PDF, DOCX, TXT, or EPR export).
- An operator (Replace keeps it readable).
- Optional name map to re-link later if needed.
Patient data entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | Fatima Al-Hassan → [PATIENT] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | updated 06/04 → [DATE] |
| Record IDs | MEDICAL_RECORD_NUMBER | MRN 884213 → [MRN] |
| Contact | PHONE_NUMBER | +44 170 555 0147 → [PHONE] |
| Location | LOCATION | 5 Linton Road → [ADDRESS] |
| Identifiers | NHS_NUMBER | 485 777 3456 → [NHS_NUMBER] |
Compliance achieved
- Strips special-category health data under UK GDPR Art. 9(1) and DPA 2018 before the sheet is reused.
- Caldicott principle 3 — use the minimum necessary — is the practical test for what a teaching or study copy should still carry.
- Anonymity is assessed with the motivated-intruder test in the ICO anonymisation guidance, and true anonymity puts the output beyond the Act by Recital 26.
- DPA 2018 s.171 makes deliberate re-identification of the released copy a criminal offence.
Anonymise medication lists offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
UK GDPR Recital 26 requires that re-identification is not reasonably likely. The tool removes direct IDs; the medicines stay. A rare mix of drugs for a known person can still hint at identity, so assess residual risk for unusual cases and keep a note of that assessment with the released file.
Frequently asked questions
Are the medicines removed?
No. Drug names are clinical content, not personal identifiers, so they stay. Only the person's IDs go, which keeps the file useful for study.
Does this require a processor agreement?
No. The tool runs on your own device with no cloud step, so no outside party touches the data and no UK GDPR Art. 28 processor contract is needed.
What stops someone re-identifying the copy?
Two things: the motivated-intruder assessment you run before release, and DPA 2018 s.171, which makes knowingly re-identifying de-identified personal data an offence.