De-Identifying HL7 messages

The application would replace PHI with new patient data generated at run-time, keeping patient history but removing any link with the actual patients.

Open the Caristix Workgroup application.

Click on Messaging v2 → De-Identify…

Click Yes to load the default de-identification rules. They are in line with the HIPAA rules for HL7 standard compliant messages.

Click No to create or load your rules.

To get started, let’s open the de-identification module and load a file containing HL7 messages. Message could also be loaded from a database or directly from your interface engine if you have the connector installed.

Open HL7 v2.x messages you want to de-identify:

Click FILE → Open → Messages… → +Add…

Choose the files containing the messages. If it is saved on your computer, click Browse My Computer.

The chosen file will be added to the file list.

Click Next > to load the file content.

Your message will appear in the Original section and an example of your message de-identified will appear in the De-identified section.

(0:35) All de-identified data in messages is in red so you can see the actual message and the result.

(0:41) The application comes with a set of de-identification rules. It covers all standard HL7 fields HIPPA identified as containing sensitive data. If messages contain customized fields or Z-segments, go ahead and customize rules.

If needed, you can modify the de-identification rules. Look at this video if you need help.

Once all rule configurations are as wanted, click View Example. You can see an example of the result in the De-identified section. If anything is not as expected in the response, continue customizing the rules.

Set the dictionary:

Click TOOLS → Option… → Settings → Enable Re-apply rules and replacement data across multiples files.

You can create as many dictionaries as needed. For this tutorial, let’s create a new dictionary called HL7Deid. Replace the file name with: C:\ProgramData\Caristix\Carisitx Workgroup\Temp\HL7Deid.dic

(0:58) Once de-identification rules are set, it’s time to launch it so all messages are de-identified and stored in files. At the end of the processing, if needed, an audit PDF file can also be created, documenting all settings de-id was done with.

Click OK → De-identify. → Choose where to save the result. Click Browse My Computer to save it onto your computer. → OK → Yes if you want to create a De-identify Process Report in PDF.

(1:14) This ends the “De-Identifying HL7 Messages” introduction tutorial.  If you have any question, feel free to contact us. We love questions and feedback!

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