Linkage of Relationship and Transaction Data

• US 20190325391A1
• Filed: 06/28/2019
• Published: 10/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HealthVerity, Inc.
• Original Assignee: HealthVerity, Inc.
• Inventors: Kress, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 11,232,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

A system and method for providing an individual with information on the transaction of other members of that individual'"'"'s social network while preserving individual anonymity. The method including de-identifying or encrypting individually identifiable relationship data, de-identifying or encrypting individually identifiable transaction data, and linking the de-identified relationship data and the de-identified transaction data. The disclosed system uses the same hash function or encryption algorithm to de-identify or encrypt both the relationship data and the transaction data, enabling the system to identify and link records associated with the same user in both data sets by making a deterministic or probabilistic determination.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving individually identifiable relationship data associated with a first user and a second user, the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the second user including a link or association with the first user;

receiving individually identifiable transaction data associated with the first user;

de-identifying or encrypting the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the first user to form de-identified relationship data associated with the first user by using a hash function or encryption algorithm to generate a first key and replacing data identifying the first user with the first key;

de-identifying or encrypting the individually identifiable transaction data associated with the first user to form de-identified transaction data associated with the first user by using the hash function or encryption algorithm to generate a second key and replacing data identifying the first user with the second key;

identifying de-identified relationship data associated with the first user and de-identified transaction data associated with the first user by making a determination that the first key is identical or similar to the second key;

linking the de-identified relationship data associated with the first user and the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user;

de-identifying or encrypting the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the second user to form de-identified relationship data associated with the second user; and

outputting the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user to the second user in response to a determination that the de-identified relationship data associated with the second user includes a social network link or association with the first user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data identifying the first user includes a name or date of birth of the first user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user is output to the second user in response to a query initiated by the second user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the hash function or encryption algorithm generates the first key by hashing or encrypting the data identifying the first user in the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the first user;

the hash function or encryption algorithm generates the second key by hashing or encrypting the data identifying the first user in the individually identifiable transaction data associated with the first user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination that the first key is identical or similar to the second key is a deterministic or probabilistic determination.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the first user comprises individually identifiable social network data associated with the first user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the individually identifiable transaction data associated with the first user comprises individually identifiable healthcare transaction data associated with the first user or individually identifiable clinical data associated with the first user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the de-identified transaction data output to the second user identifies a physician of the first user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the de-identified transaction data output to the second user identifies a healthcare facility utilized by the first user, a treatment received by the first user, or a medication distributed to the first user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving individually identifiable relationship data associated with the second user includes a link or association with a third user, the method further comprising:

receiving individually identifiable transaction data associated with the third user;

de-identifying or encrypting the individually identifiable transaction data associated with the third user;

summarizing the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user and the de-identified transaction data associated with the third user; and

outputting, to the second user, the summary of the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user and the de-identified transaction data associated with the third user.

11. A system, comprising:

a relationship database for storing;

individually identifiable relationship data associated with a first user; and

individually identifiable relationship data associated with a second user that includes a link or association with the first user;

a transaction database for storing individually identifiable transaction data associated with the first user; and

a processor configured to;

de-identify or encrypt the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the first user to form de-identified relationship data associated with the first user by using a hash function or encryption algorithm to generate a first key and replacing the data identifying the first user with the first key;

de-identify or encrypt the individually identifiable transaction data associated with the first user to form de-identified transaction data associated with the first user by using the hash function or encryption algorithm to generate a second key and replacing the data identifying the first user with the second key;

identify de-identified relationship data associated with the first user and de-identified transaction data associated with the first user by making a determination that the first key is identical or similar to the second key;

link the de-identified social network data associated with the first user and the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user;

de-identifying or encrypting the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the second user to form de-identified relationship data associated with the second user; and

output the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user to the second user in response to a determination that de-identified relationship data associated with the second user includes a link or association with the first user.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the data identifying the first user includes a name or date of birth of the first user.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor outputs the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user to the second user in response to a query initiated by the second user.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the hash function or encryption algorithm generates the first key by hashing or encrypting the data identifying the first user in the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the first user;

the hash function or encryption algorithm generates the second key by hashing or encrypting the data identifying the first user in the individually identifiable transaction data associated with the first user.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor determines that the first key is identical or similar to the second key by making a deterministic or probabilistic determination.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the first user comprises individually identifiable social network data associated with the first user.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the individually identifiable transaction data associated with the first user comprises individually identifiable healthcare transaction data associated with the first user or individually identifiable clinical data associated with the first user.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the de-identified transaction data output to the second user identifies a physician of the first user.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the de-identified transaction data output to the second user identifies a healthcare facility utilized by the first user, a treatment received by the first user, or a medication distributed to the first user.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the individually identifiable relationship data associated with the second user includes a link or association with a third user;

the transaction database stores individually identifiable transaction data associated with the third user; and

the processor is configured to;

de-identify or encrypt the individually identifiable transaction data associated with the third user;

summarize the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user and the de-identified transaction data associated with the third user; and

output, to the second user, the summary of the de-identified transaction data associated with the first user and the de-identified transaction data associated with the third user.