Glossary
De-identification
Also called: anonymization, Safe Harbor
Removing identifiers from health data so it is no longer protected health information under HIPAA and can be used more freely.
HIPAA provides two routes: Safe Harbor, which requires removing eighteen specified identifier types, and Expert Determination, in which a qualified person certifies the re-identification risk is very small.
Where This Gets Misread
Safe Harbor was written for structured records and handles imaging and free text poorly. Facial reconstruction from head CT is demonstrably possible, and clinical narrative routinely contains identifying detail no identifier-stripping rule catches. De-identified is a legal status, not a statement about actual re-identification risk.