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Data Confidentiality

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Health Services Evaluation

Part of the book series: Health Services Research ((HEALTHSR))

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Abstract

When medical data are collected and disseminated for research purposes, the organization which releases the data has an ethical, and in most cases a legal, responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of the data relating to individuals involved. Striking a balance between getting data to researchers and maintaining this confidentiality is becoming an increasingly tricky proposition. Methods developed in the field of statistical disclosure control aim to thwart potential disclosures of private information while still allowing researchers the ability to use the data. This chapter presents a survey of the main types of potential disclosure risks, an overview of the widely used disclosure control methods, and the most common techniques for measuring privacy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Loyola University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Theresa Henle & Gregory J. Matthews

  2. Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Ofer Harel

Authors
  1. Theresa Henle
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  2. Gregory J. Matthews
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  3. Ofer Harel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ofer Harel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Adrian Levy

  2. ICON plc, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Sarah Goring

  3. Department of Biostatistics, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Constantine Gatsonis

  4. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Boris Sobolev

  5. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Department of Health Care Management, Berlin University of Technology, Berlin, Germany

    Ewout van Ginneken

  6. Department Health Care Management Faculty of Economics and Management, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Reinhard Busse

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Henle, T., Matthews, G.J., Harel, O. (2019). Data Confidentiality. In: Levy, A., Goring, S., Gatsonis, C., Sobolev, B., van Ginneken, E., Busse, R. (eds) Health Services Evaluation. Health Services Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8715-3_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8715-3_28

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8714-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8715-3

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