In article <v01540b02add1fc6e4658@[193.239.225.200]>, Clay Olbon II <Clay.Olbon@dynetics.com> wrote:
In medical research (this particular application - there are others I am sure) it is desirable to have a large database of individual medical histories available to search for correlations, risk factors, etc. The problem, of course, is that many individuals want their medical histories kept private. It is therefore necessary to maintain a database that is not traceable back to individuals. An additional requirement is that people must be able to add additional information to their records as it becomes available.
How about a simple non-technical solution? Each patient picks a random pseudonym; the database is keyed off that pseudonym, and the person's True Name(tm) never appears in the database. Patients should remember their pseudonym (or write it down); then they can add information to the database. Ahh, anonymity. (Hey, I posted about something exportable-- that should fill my quota for the year. :-)