The Data De-Identification Dilemma

Data de-identification refers to breaking the link between data and the individual with whom the data is initially associated. This requires removing or transforming personal identifiers. 

Data de-identification serves as an indispensable guardian of individuals’ privacy, ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, mitigating risks from data breaches, and enabling safe data use for research. If you are conducting Human Subject Research at GW, and plan to publish data on human subjects, you know you have to take careful steps to protect the confidentiality of study participants through data de-identification. 

Join us to learn more about data de-identification and how de-identification requirements differ significantly across privacy laws, such as HIPAA and GDPR, because each law has its own definition of what constitutes "identifiable" data and its own standards for what must be removed to consider data de-identified.