DateID Lookup Table for HIPAA Compliant PHI Search
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Solution Overview
Problem
Encrypting protected health information (PHI) for compliance with HIPAA regulations significantly impacts system performance, particularly during search or sort routines, as database systems must decrypt each record, leading to time-consuming processes due to the inability to leverage indexes of encrypted fields.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a lookup table with dateIDs and de-identified date values is used, where dateIDs are generated randomly and uniquely assigned to dates, allowing for efficient querying and retrieval of records within a date range without decrypting all records, thereby reducing processing time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If PHI data is encrypted to satisfy HIPAA regulations, then data security is improved, but system performance deteriorates due to inability to leverage indexes and requirement to decrypt each record during search operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments PHI data into two parts: encrypted PHI values and separate date identifiers (dateIDs). The encrypted data is stored in the database with indexes, while dateIDs are stored separately in a lookup table. This segmentation allows the system to maintain encryption for security while enabling efficient index-based searches on the dateID portion without requiring decryption of the actual PHI data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dateIDs as an intermediary element between the search query and the encrypted PHI data. Instead of searching directly on encrypted PHI fields, the system searches on dateIDs which serve as proxies. The lookup table acts as a mediator that maps dateIDs to actual dates, enabling efficient range queries without compromising data security or requiring full decryption of PHI records.
2Reliability
If encrypted data is used for search operations, then data security is maintained, but query time increases significantly due to full table scan and decryption of each record
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-generating dateIDs for all possible date ranges and storing them in a lookup table before actual search operations. This pre-computation allows the system to quickly determine the minimum and maximum dateIDs corresponding to any query date range without performing complex decryption or calculation during the actual search, significantly reducing query time while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of decrypting each record during search with a more efficient mechanism: index-based lookup on dateID fields. Instead of the traditional approach of decrypting every PHI record to check dates, the system substitutes this with fast index scans on encrypted dateID fields followed by selective decryption only of matching records, dramatically reducing the time loss.
3Productivity
If dateIDs are randomly generated and uniquely assigned to dates in a lookup table, then search efficiency is improved through index usage, but system complexity increases due to additional data structures and processes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a simplified copy or representation of date information in the form of dateIDs stored in a lookup table. Rather than working directly with complex encrypted PHI date fields, the system uses these copied dateID representations that can be efficiently indexed and searched. The lookup table serves as a reference copy that maps dateIDs to actual date ranges, enabling efficient searches without the complexity of directly manipulating encrypted PHI data structures.
Data Source
AI summary
A method facilitating searching of data containing protected date information includes generating one or more randomly escalating dateID values for each date during a time period and storing such generated dateID values in a lookup table together with an encrypted, associated date value. Such generated dateID values can be stored in a datasource in place of protected dates in order to safeguard protected health information. In one or more preferred implementations, a de-identified date is stored in the lookup table in association with a dateID, and utilized for searching operations.