Redaction and anonymisation
Post date: 08/10/2026 | Time to read article: 1 minsThe information within this article was correct at the time of publishing. Last updated 08/10/2026
Protecting patient confidentiality when sharing documents with Medical Protection
To help us comply with data protection and privacy requirements, please ensure that any personal or patient information is appropriately anonymised or redacted before documents are submitted to Medical Protection.
Redact and anonymise
If you need to send us documents containing information which may identify a patient or other third party, please ensure that any redaction or anonymisation is carried out so that the information cannot be read or reinstated.
- Redaction refers to the obscuring of all or a portion of text for data protection, confidentiality, security or legal reasons.
- Anonymisation is the process of turning data into a form that does not identify individuals, and where identification is unlikely.
Here are some examples of information you should redact or anonymise before submitting documents to us:
- names
- addresses
- email addresses
- telephone numbers
- patient identification numbers
- photographs which could identify an individual
- any other information capable of identifying an individual
Physical documents
When redacting confidential information in a paper document, use a method that permanently obscures the information, such as an opaque black redaction marker. The document should then be carefully checked to ensure that the redacted information cannot be read on the original document or when copied or scanned.
If a physical document is sent to us and it has not been redacted or anonymised, we will return it to you advising of the reason, asking you to return it to us redacted. The exception to this is any document sent under legal privilege to a qualified solicitor or legal executive, required in connection with anticipated or ongoing litigation or in the context of legal advice.
Electronic documents
Redactions made to electronic documents can sometimes be reversed if they have not been applied correctly. Before submitting documents to us, ensure that redactions are permanently applied using appropriate PDF or document redaction tools, and save the redacted version as a new document before sending it.
If an electronic document is sent to us and it has not been redacted or anonymised, we will delete it and inform you we have done so, asking you to resend it redacted. The exception to this is any document sent under legal privilege to a qualified solicitor or legal executive, required in connection with anticipated or ongoing litigation or in the context of legal advice.
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