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How exactly would you 'de-identify' a NHS number?



The data available won't include that those personal identifiers. At time of extraction, the patient record in the database is assigned a new unique identifier which has nothing to do with the NHS number.


Since that number is meaningless in the U.S., I guess you wouldn't care.


My New Zealand address is meaningless in the US unless you want to find my house. I see patient numbers on things displayed from time to time and wince - interesting case studies etc. I most certainly could find out who the person is. A distinct pathology is probably enough to identify someone in New Zealand if you tried hard enough.




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