Software Overview
PSL extracts, transforms, and loads Free Text and Coded Pathology Data into a de-identified format which can be searched across multiple hospitals.
PSL requires the following open.med modules:
With the specimen data is loaded, an investigator may SEARCH THE PATHOLOGY ARCHIVES to find and request human tissue samples.
Architecture Diagram
Below is a summary "picture" that show 4 hospitals getting "loaded up" with specimen data and then searched with increasing level of access as necessary.
IRB approval is required for only the limited subset of patient specimens located.
This scrubber utility uses several methods to remove confidential identifiers from structured XML or plain text including:
- comparing raw & derived variations of input text phrases to lists of known identifiers (names, states, etc)
- applying a series of Regular Expressions
While typically used to prepare confidential reports to be compliant with HIPAA standards, this utility is practical for any
organization looking to protect privacy of their records – regardless if they are being used for medical purposes or not.