The de-identification of documents or redaction of sensitive information is a requirement in a number of different industries. County recorders might need to redact sensitive information from land records that they make public for document security. Secretary of State offices might need to redact social security numbers and tax IDs from UCC filing forms. Healthcare organizations might need to redact protected health information in the release of information requests. There are a number of needs across a variety of sectors.
Redaction Requirements for Document Security
Redaction requirements can vary widely depending on the organizational body that is creating the regulations. State governments can have differing requirements for what items need to be redacted from publicly available land records. One local government might require that full social security numbers be redacted from death certificates whereas a neighboring local government might require that only the first five digits be redacted.
Implementation of a Redaction Solution
When it comes to your document security and implementing a redaction solution, flexibility is of the utmost importance. New regulations are frequently put in place and existing regulations can often be changed. In order for courts, county clerks, or secretary of state offices to stay current, they need to be able to quickly adjust their redaction solution and modify their processes.
Automating Redaction means less Errors
Automating redaction reduces the chances of errors occurring. When a computer is trained on what to redact, it is better equipped to adapt to changing requirements. A user who spends six months manually redacting the first five digits of a social security number is likely to have some struggles if the requirement is changed to be all nine digits. There will be times where the user only redacts the first five out of habit. When the process is automated, the software can be re-configured as necessary and those types of mistakes will not occur.
Finding A Solution That Fits Your Needs
Extract’s redaction solution provides the needed flexibility and expertise to avoid any errors or missed sensitive data items. Extract has redacted over 4 billion pages of court records, land records, UCC filings, credit card statements, clinical research documents, etc.
Extract has redacted a wide variety of different types of data in these documents, ranging from social security numbers to dates to names to tax information and so on. This amount of experience ensures that Extract can provide your organization with the required flexibility and accuracy to achieve whatever redaction goals you have.
About the Author: Eric Davidson
Eric Davidson is a Customer Support Specialist & Project Manager at Extract. He is heavily involved in the design and development of Extract’s data entry interface. Prior to Extract, Eric spent 3 and a half years working in Healthcare IT and learning the ins and outs of EMRs at Epic.