title: An optimal code for patient identifiers.
abstract: How to distinguish 1 billion individuals by an identifier consisting of eight characters, allowing a reasonable amount of error detection or even error correction? Our solution of this problem is an optimal code over a 32-character alphabet that detects up to two errors and corrects one error as well as a transposition of two adjacent characters. The corresponding encoding and error checking algorithms are available for free; they are also embedded as components of the pseudonymisation service that is used in the TMF-the German telematics platform for health research networks.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Medizinische Biometrie, Epidemiologie und Informatik der Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität, D-55101 Mainz, Germany. faldum@imbei.uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faldum
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pommerening
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003219:Confidentiality; D008433:Mathematics; D010355:Patient Identification Systems