starling (version 0.6.5)

homing: Homing: Relink De-identified Data Using Lookup Table

Description

Like homing pigeons finding their way back, this function relinks de-identified data with original identifiers using the lookup table created by molting().

Usage

homing(
  deidentified_data,
  lookup_table,
  hash_col_name = "row_hash",
  keep_hash = TRUE
)

Value

A data frame with the original identifiers merged back in.

Arguments

deidentified_data

A de-identified data frame containing a hash column (typically the output from molting()$deidentified).

lookup_table

The lookup table data frame that maps anonymous hash values back to original identifiers. Created by molting(), it contains the hash column plus all removed identifier columns (names, dates of birth, medical record numbers, etc.). This serves as the secure "key" for relinking de-identified data back to real identities. Each row maps one hash to one set of identifiers. Typically obtained as molting()$lookup. Example structure for a dataset that had patient_name, dob, and mrn removed: row_hash | patient_name | dob | mrn.

hash_col_name

The name of the hash column used for linking. Must exist in both deidentified_data and lookup_table. Defaults to "row_hash".

keep_hash

Logical. If TRUE (default), keeps the hash column in the relinked data. If FALSE, removes it after relinking.

Examples

if (FALSE) {
# First, de-identify the data
result <- molting(patient_data)

# Later, relink when needed
original_data <- homing(
  result$deidentified,
  result$lookup
)
}