OBJECT IDENTIFIER (AS USED IN DATA SCIENCE)

An object identifier is anything associated with the object that persists throughout the life of the object and that is unique to the object (ie, does not belong to any other object). Everyone is familiar with biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints, iris patterns, and genome sequences. In the case of data objects, the identifier usually refers to a randomly chosen long sequence of numbers and letters that is permanently assigned to the object and that is never assigned to any other data object (see Glossary item, Data object).

An identifier system is a set of data-related protocols that satisfy the following conditions: (1) Completeness (ie, every unique object has an identifier); (2) Uniqueness (ie, each identifier is a unique sequence); (3) Exclusivity (ie, each identifier is assigned to only one unique object and to no other object, ever); (4) Authenticity (ie, objects that receive identification can be verified as the objects that they are intended to be); (5) Aggregation (ie, all information associated with an identifier can be collected); and (6) Permanence (ie, an identifier is never deleted).

- Jules Berman (copyrighted material)

key words: identifier, identification, uniqueness, data object, jules j berman

REIDENTIFICATION UNDER HIPAA

Reidentification is a term casually applied to any instance whereby information can be linked to a specific person, after the links between the information and the person associated with the information have been removed. Used this way, the term reidentification connotes an insufficient deidentification process. In the health care industry, the term "reidentification" means something else entirely. In the U.S., regulations define "reidentification" under the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information.”(1) Therein, reidentification is a legally sanctioned process whereby deidentified records can be linked back to their human subjects, under circumstances deemed legitimate and compelling, by a privacy board. Reidentification is typically accomplished via the use of a confidential list of links between human subject names and deidentified records, held by a trusted party. In the healthcare realm, when a human subject is identified through fraud, trickery, or through the deliberate use of computational methods to break the confidentiality of insufficiently deidentified records (ie, hacking), the term "reidentification" would not apply.(2)

References

1. Department of Health and Human Services. 45 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), parts 160 through 164. Standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information (final rule). Fed Regist 2000;65(250):82461–510.

2. Berman JJ. Principles of big data: preparing, sharing, and analyzing complex information. Morgan Kaufmann; 2013.

- Jules Berman (copyrighted material)

key words: identifier, deidentifier, identification, reidentification, privacy, HIPAA, confidentiality, medical records, jules j berman

Patient identifiers in Electronic Health Records

I have posted an article on patient identifiers. Here is a short excerpt from the article:

Imagine this scenario. You show up for treatment in the hospital where you were born, and in which you have been seen for various ailments over the past three decades. One of the following events transpires:

1. The hospital has a medical record of someone with your name, but it's not you. After much effort, they find another medical record with your name. Once again, it's the wrong person. After much time and effort, you are told that the hospital has no record for you.

2. The hospital has your medical record. After a few minutes with your doctor, it becomes obvious to both of you that the record is missing a great deal of information, relating to tests and procedures done recently and in the distant past. Nobody can find these missing records. You ask your doctor whether your records may have been inserted into the electronic chart of another patient or of multiple patients. The doctor does not answer your question.

3. The hospital has your medical record, but after a few moments, it becomes obvious that the record includes a variety of tests done on patients other than yourself. Some of the other patients have your name. Others have a different name. Nobody seems to understand how these records got into your chart.

4. You are informed that the hospital has changed its hospital information system, and your old electronic records are no longer available. You are asked to answer a long list of questions concerning your medical history. Your answers will be added to your new medical chart. You can't answer any of the questions with much certainty.

5. You are told that your electronic record was transferred to the hospital information system of a large multi-hospital system. This occurred as a consequence of a complex acquisition and merger. The hospital in which you are seeking care has not yet been deployed within the information structure of the multi-hospital system and has no access to your record. You are assured that the record has not been lost and will be accessible within the decade.

6. You arrive at your hospital to find that it has been demolished and replaced by a shopping center. Your electronic records are gone forever.

These are the kinds of problems that arise when hospitals lack a proper patient identifier system (a common shortcoming). The purpose of the article is to list the features of a patient identifier system, emphasizing the essential role of identifiers in healthcare services and biomedical research.

The full-length article is available at:

http://www.julesberman.info/book/id_deid.htm

© 2011 Jules J. Berman

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In June, 2014, my book, entitled Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs: Keys to Understanding and Treating the Common Diseases was published by Elsevier. The book builds the argument that our best chance of curing the common diseases will come from studying and curing the rare diseases.

I urge you to read more about my book. There's a generous preview of the book at the Google Books site. If you like the book, please request your librarian to purchase a copy of this book for your library or reading room.

tags: common disease, orphan disease, orphan drugs, rare disease, subsets of disease, disease genetics, identifiers, identification, ehr, emr, electronic health records, electronic medical record, health informatics, HITECH, medical informatics, pathology informatics