| | 46 | === Date of Birth |
| | 47 | |
| | 48 | Date of birth should not be released, unless necessary, especially when combined with other fields such as postcode and gender. Instead use the fields: |
| | 49 | |
| | 50 | - Age |
| | 51 | - Year of Birth |
| | 52 | |
| | 53 | Both of these values should also be banded where possible. For example, age=40-45. |
| | 54 | |
| | 55 | === Identifiers |
| | 56 | |
| | 57 | NHS Numbers and UHL System Numbers should not be released, unless they are required - for example, for linking to UHL data warehouse data or accessing imaging files. |
| | 58 | |
| | 59 | All participants must have a unique [[Participant Study Identifier]] that is only linked to other identifiers within the LCBRU IT systems. This can be released. |
| | 60 | |
| | 61 | === Free Text and Notes Fields |
| | 62 | |
| | 63 | Free text note fields should not be released as there is a possibility that the text will contain personal identifiable information. It is possible to de-identify free text with a high degree of success. However, currently this is never 100% effective and the LCBRU does not have a tool to carry out this task. |
| | 64 | |
| | 65 | As an alternative, coded information should be extracted from the free text using computer-based and manual processes. |
| | 66 | |
