Persistent Patient Identifier System Using Hashed Tokens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing healthcare data management systems face challenges in securely and efficiently sharing patient healthcare data while protecting personally identifiable information (PII), due to stringent regulations such as HIPAA.
Innovation Solution
The development of a computer-implemented system that creates source-specific, persistent patient identifiers by accessing healthcare data records, extracting and encrypting PII, applying hashing functions to create hashed tokens, and transmitting these tokens to generate a source-specific identifier encoded for a specific organization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If patient identifying information (PII) is transmitted for data sharing, then data sharing efficiency is improved, but patient privacy security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the necessary identifying information (patient name, date of birth, gender) from the complete patient record to create hashed tokens. This extraction allows data matching and sharing while minimizing the exposure of sensitive PII, as only hashed versions of these extracted elements are transmitted and stored.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces hashed tokens as an intermediary between the original PII and the data sharing process. These tokens serve as a mediator that enables data linkage and sharing without directly exposing the underlying sensitive information. The hashed tokens can be matched across different datasets while the original PII remains protected in the source systems.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If hashed tokens are created and transmitted for patient identification, then patient privacy is protected, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary hashing of patient identifying information at the source before data transmission. By pre-creating the hashed tokens from the original PII, the system eliminates the need for complex real-time hashing operations during data sharing and matching processes, distributing the computational complexity to when it is most efficient.
Solution Approach 2:
The hashed tokens serve multiple functions: they enable patient identification across different datasets, facilitate data matching and linkage, protect patient privacy through one-way hashing, and allow for efficient comparison operations. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanisms for each purpose.
3Reliability
If source-specific identifiers are encoded for different organizations, then data security is improved, but system interoperability complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the identifier system by organization, creating source-specific encoded identifiers for each healthcare provider or organization. Each organization's identifiers are encoded with their specific source identifier, creating isolated security zones while maintaining overall system functionality through standardized hashing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The encoding scheme applies local quality by making each organization's identifier encoding specific to that source. The hashed tokens incorporate the source identifier in a way that is optimized for that particular organization's data structure and security requirements, while still allowing cross-organization matching through the common hashing foundation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If complete patient records are shared across providers, then comprehensive care coordination is improved, but information security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential identifying elements (name, DOB, gender) needed for patient matching and care coordination, rather than sharing complete patient records. This extraction enables care coordination functionality while minimizing the security surface area by reducing the volume and sensitivity of shared information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates hashed copies of patient identifying information that can be shared across multiple providers. These copied hashed tokens enable care coordination and patient identification without requiring access to or transmission of the original sensitive patient records, allowing comprehensive coordination with minimal security risk.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for creating source-specific, persistent patient identifiers for healthcare service providers. One method includes accessing a record of healthcare data, wherein the record includes patient identifying information (PII) associated with one or more persons to whom the healthcare data pertains. The portions of PII included in the accessed record of healthcare data are extracted from the accessed record and encrypted. Based on one or more business rules, one or more hashed tokens are created by applying one or more hashing functions to the extracted portions of PII. A source-specific identifier is received, the source-specific identifier having been encoded in a manner specific to an organization associated with the computer system and having been encoded with reference to the one or more hashed tokens. An association is stored between the source-specific identifier and the accessed record of healthcare data.