Prescription de-identification is the removal of patient IDs from a script. A prescription-only medicine may only be supplied against a prescription that names the patient, so Part 12 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 puts an identifier on the face of every script by design. anonym.plus clears those IDs on your own device. The medicine and the dose stay; the name goes.
When this applies
A script names the patient, the prescriber, and the pharmacy. The signed original stays in your retained records. What you need for an audit, a teaching set, or a prescribing review is a copy with the IDs cleared.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the file (PDF, DOCX, or scan) in anonym.plus on your device.
- Local OCR reads scanned scripts, so printed text is caught too.
- It flags patient and prescriber names, dates, and contacts.
- Check the flags; the medicine name is not an ID and stays.
- Swap each ID for a label, or black it out.
- Save the clean copy. The original never leaves your machine.
What you need to provide
- The script (PDF, DOCX, TXT, or image scan).
- An operator: Replace, Redact, or Mask.
- Optional allow-list to keep your formulary terms.
Patient data entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | Priya Sharma → [PATIENT] |
| Names | PERSON | Dr. Patel → [PRESCRIBER] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | issued 04/12/2026 → [DATE] |
| Record IDs | MEDICAL_RECORD_NUMBER | Rx 55812 → [RX_ID] |
| Contact | PHONE_NUMBER | +44 151 555 0190 → [PHONE] |
| Identifiers | NHS_NUMBER | 485 777 3456 → [NHS_NUMBER] |
Compliance achieved
- Recognises that Part 12 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1916) requires a prescription-only medicine to be supplied against a prescription naming the patient — so the identifier is built into the document.
- Clears special-category health data handled under UK GDPR Art. 9(2)(h) with the health-care condition in DPA 2018 Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2.
- Honours standard 7 of the GPhC Standards for Pharmacy Professionals, which covers a person’s confidentiality and privacy.
- A properly anonymous copy falls outside the Act by UK GDPR Recital 26; deliberately re-identifying it is an offence under DPA 2018 s.171.
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Limitations & cautions
The medicine name and dose are not patient IDs and stay in place. This does not touch your statutory retained record — you de-identify a copy, never the original the Human Medicines Regulations require you to keep. A rare compound for a known person could still hint at identity, so review unusual cases and keep the prescriber’s details out if you share widely.
Frequently asked questions
Is the medicine name removed?
No. A drug name is not personal data under DPA 2018 s.3(2), so it stays. Only IDs such as the patient name, the date, and the script number are removed, which keeps the file useful.
Does this affect the record I must keep by law?
No. The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 require you to keep the original supply record. anonym.plus works on an exported copy, so the retained original is untouched.
Does this require a data-sharing agreement?
No. anonym.plus runs on your own device with no cloud step. No outside party touches the data, so no UK GDPR Art. 28 processor contract arises.