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Deidentify

  • 44 installs
  • 236 repo stars
  • Updated August 3, 2026
  • aperivue/medsci-skills

Deidentify is a Claude Code skill wrapping a standalone Python CLI that detects and removes PHI from clinical research data locally, with no LLM or network access to raw data.

About

Deidentify de-identifies clinical research data before LLM-assisted analysis using a standalone Python CLI that runs locally without network or AI calls. A medical researcher runs it to strip PHI from CSV, TSV, or Excel datasets using country-specific locale pattern packs. The LLM only guides and verifies; it never sees the raw patient data.

  • Standalone local Python CLI detects PHI via regex plus heuristics; no LLM touches raw data
  • 10 country locale packs (kr, us, jp, cn, de, uk, fr, ca, au, in) for PHI patterns
  • Interactive three-pass terminal review and HIPAA Safe Harbor audit logging

Deidentify by the numbers

  • 44 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • Ranked #973 of 2,064 Data Science & ML skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
At a glance

deidentify capabilities & compatibility

Capabilities
generate codebook · define variables
Use cases
security audit · data analysis
Platforms
macOS · Linux · Windows
Pricing
Free
From the docs

What deidentify says it does

De-identify clinical research data before LLM-assisted analysis.
SKILL.md
No LLM touches raw data — the script runs locally without any network or AI calls.
SKILL.md
NEVER ask the user to paste, show, or upload raw data containing PHI.
SKILL.md
npx skills add https://github.com/aperivue/medsci-skills --skill deidentify

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs44
repo stars236
Last updatedAugust 3, 2026
Repositoryaperivue/medsci-skills

What it does

De-identify clinical datasets locally by detecting and anonymizing PHI before any LLM-assisted analysis.

Who is it for?

Researchers who must strip PHI from CSV or Excel clinical data before LLM-assisted analysis, with IRB-ready documentation.

Skip if: Analyzing or transforming data content beyond PHI removal.

When should I use this skill?

Clinical data containing patient identifiers must be anonymized before sharing or analysis.

What you get

A de-identified dataset, a hash-only audit log, and a methods paragraph for the manuscript or IRB.

  • de-identified dataset
  • hash-only audit log
  • IRB methods paragraph

By the numbers

  • 10 country locale packs
  • HIPAA 18-identifier checklist
  • five-phase workflow

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

De-identification Skill

You are guiding a medical researcher through data de-identification. The actual de-identification is performed by a standalone Python script that runs WITHOUT any LLM. Your role is to explain, guide, and verify — not to see or process raw PHI data.

Critical Safety Rules

1. NEVER ask the user to paste, show, or upload raw data containing PHI. The script processes data locally. You never need to see patient-level data. 2. NEVER read or display the mapping file contents. It contains original PHI values. 3. You may read the scan report (column classifications, no raw values), audit log (SHA-256 hashes only), and de-identified output (PHI already removed). 4. Always communicate in the user's preferred language about the process, but use English for technical terms (PHI, HIPAA, Safe Harbor, etc.).

Reference Files

  • ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/hipaa_18_identifiers.md — HIPAA Safe Harbor checklist
  • ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/korean_phi_patterns.md — Korean-specific regex patterns
  • ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/date_shift_guide.md — Date shifting best practices

Read relevant references before advising the researcher.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10+
  • openpyxl (for .xlsx files): pip install openpyxl
  • Supported formats: CSV, TSV, Excel (.xlsx)

Five-Phase Workflow

Phase 1: Assessment

Ask the researcher: 1. What file format is the data? (CSV, Excel, etc.) 2. What PHI do you expect in the data? (names, dates, IDs, etc.) 3. Does your IRB require specific de-identification documentation? 4. Do you need to re-identify later? (affects mapping file choice)

Based on answers, recommend the appropriate command:

  • Full pipeline (most common): python deidentify.py full <file> --locale <code>
  • Step-by-step (cautious): python deidentify.py scan <file> --locale <code> first

Available locale codes: kr (Korea), us (USA), jp (Japan), cn (China), de (Germany), uk (United Kingdom), fr (France), ca (Canada), au (Australia), in (India). If --locale is omitted, the script shows an interactive country selection menu. Users can provide a custom locale file via --locale-file custom.json.

Phase 2: Script Execution

Guide the researcher to run the script. The script is located at:

${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/deidentify.py

Full pipeline (recommended for most users):

python ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/deidentify.py full data.xlsx \
    --locale kr \
    --output-dir ./deidentified/ \
    --auto-accept-safe

Step-by-step (for careful review):

# Step 1: Scan
python ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/deidentify.py scan data.xlsx --locale kr --output-dir ./deidentified/

# Step 2: Review (interactive)
python ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/deidentify.py review ./deidentified/scan_report.json

# Step 3: Apply
python ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/deidentify.py apply ./deidentified/reviewed_report.json

Options:

  • --locale CODE: Country locale for PHI patterns (kr, us, jp, cn, de, uk, fr, ca, au, in)
  • --locale-file PATH: Custom locale JSON file (copy locales/_template.json to create one)
  • --auto-accept-safe: Skip confirmation for columns classified as SAFE (faster for large datasets)
  • --hash-mapping: Store SHA-256 hashes instead of original values in mapping file (one-way, more secure)
  • --output-dir: Where to save de-identified file, mapping, and audit log
  • -v/--verbose: Enable debug logging

Phase 3: Interactive Review Guidance

The script's terminal review has three passes:

1. Pass 1 — Column Classification: Each column is shown as PHI / REVIEW_NEEDED / SAFE. The researcher confirms or overrides each classification. 2. Pass 2 — Undecided Items: Columns that weren't resolved in Pass 1 get a second look with more sample values displayed. 3. Pass 3 — Final Summary: A table of all planned actions. The researcher can edit individual decisions before confirming.

Coach the researcher. Deliver these prompts in the researcher's preferred language:

  • "Columns classified as PHI are anonymized by default. Press 'k' to keep the original value."
  • "REVIEW_NEEDED are columns the script could not classify. Check the sample values and decide."
  • "SAFE means no PHI detected. Press 'r' to request re-review if any column looks suspicious."

Phase 4: Verify and Document

After the script completes, help the researcher verify:

1. Read the audit log (safe — contains only hashes):

   cat ./deidentified/audit_log.csv | head -20

Verify the number of changes, affected columns, and PHI types.

2. Spot-check the de-identified file (safe — PHI already removed): Read a few rows to confirm pseudonyms (P0001, etc.), date shifts, and [REDACTED] markers appear where expected.

3. Check that sensitive columns are actually removed: Verify no original names, phone numbers, or RRN values remain.

4. Mapping file security:

  • Remind the researcher: "mapping.json contains original patient identifiers — treat it as restricted."
  • Recommend storing it separately from the de-identified data
  • File permissions are automatically set to 0600 (owner-only)

Phase 5: Documentation

Generate a de-identification methods paragraph for the manuscript or IRB:

Template:

Protected health information was removed from the dataset prior to analysis using
a rule-based de-identification tool (deidentify.py, medsci-skills) with the [COUNTRY]
locale pattern pack. The tool scanned column names and cell values using regex patterns
for country-specific identifiers (e.g., national ID numbers, phone numbers), email
addresses, dates, and addresses. Each column classification was reviewed by the
researcher in an interactive terminal session. Names were replaced with pseudonyms
(P0001, P0002, ...), dates were shifted by a random per-patient offset (±365 days)
preserving relative temporal intervals, and direct identifiers (phone numbers, email
addresses, national ID numbers) were suppressed. A total of [N] cells across [M]
columns were de-identified. The de-identification mapping file was stored separately
under restricted access (file permissions 0600).

Customize based on the actual audit log statistics.

Cross-Skill Integration

  • deidentify sits BEFORE clean-data in the research pipeline
  • After de-identification, hand off to /clean-data for data quality profiling
  • /analyze-stats can safely process the de-identified output
  • /write-paper Methods section should reference the de-identification process
  • /write-protocol can use the HIPAA/PIPA reference files for protocol documentation

Output Files

FileContains PHI?Safe for Claude?Purpose
*_deidentified.xlsx/csvNoYesDe-identified data for analysis
mapping.jsonYESNoOriginal ↔ pseudonym mapping
audit_log.csvNo (hashes only)YesWhat was changed and where
scan_report.jsonNoYesColumn classification results
reviewed_report.jsonNoYesResearcher-reviewed classifications

Scope and Limitations

Supported (v1):

  • Structured tabular data: CSV, TSV, Excel (.xlsx)
  • 10 country locales with country-specific PHI patterns:
  • Korea (kr): RRN (주민번호), phone, email, address, Hangul names, dates
  • USA (us): SSN, US phone, US address, zip codes
  • Japan (jp): マイナンバー, Japanese phone, 都道府県 address, Kanji names
  • China (cn): 身份证号, Chinese phone, 省市区 address, Chinese names
  • Germany (de): Steuer-ID, German phone, Straße address
  • UK (uk): NHS Number, NI Number, UK phone, postcodes
  • France (fr): NIR/INSEE, French phone, Rue address
  • Canada (ca): SIN, Canadian phone, postal codes
  • Australia (au): TFN, Medicare number, AU phone
  • India (in): Aadhaar, PAN, Indian phone, pin codes
  • Universal patterns (all locales): email, ISO dates, high-cardinality numeric IDs (MRN)
  • English column names recognized across all locales
  • Custom locale support via --locale-file with template
  • Pseudonymization, date shifting, ID replacement, suppression

NOT supported (planned for v2):

  • DICOM image metadata (PS3.15 Annex E) — requires pydicom
  • Clinical free-text NER (clinical notes, radiology reports)
  • Automated k-anonymity / l-diversity assessment
  • SPSS (.sav), SAS (.sas7bdat), or other statistical formats

Anti-Hallucination

  • Never fabricate file paths, URLs, DOIs, or package names. Verify existence before recommending.
  • Never invent journal metadata, impact factors, or submission policies without verification at the journal's website.
  • If a tool, package, or resource does not exist or you are unsure, say so explicitly rather than guessing.

Related skills

FAQ

Does the LLM see the raw patient data?

No. The de-identification is performed by a standalone Python script that runs locally without any LLM or network calls; the model only guides and verifies.

Which countries are supported?

Ten locale packs: Korea, USA, Japan, China, Germany, UK, France, Canada, Australia, and India.

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