How to redact PHI before sharing a patient record
Load the record above and the patient identifiers in it come back marked, ready for you to approve. Redact takes a value out of the copy you share for good. Mask swaps it for a reversible placeholder you can restore when the reply comes back. Both run in one pass over the same document.
What gets found, and what you decide
Patient information hides in more places than the obvious fields. Names, dates of birth, medical record numbers, contact details, account numbers, locations, appointment dates, and the names of relatives all identify a person in context, and they turn up in headers, footers, table columns, labels, and the middle of a sentence. PHI Mask reads all of it and marks what it finds, so the slow part of the job is already done when you open the review.
What is left is the judgement call: what this recipient actually needs. Every detected value shows its treatment, so you can accept the defaults, change one, or add something specific to your practice, then export. Read the finished copy once before it goes out.
When should you redact instead of mask?
| Treatment | Use it when | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Redact | The selected value must not be recoverable from the exported copy. | The selected content is permanently removed from that copy. |
| Mask | You need a temporary substitute while working with another person or tool. | A placeholder can be mapped back to the source value in the active tab. |
Most clinic work wants masking. You cover the identifiers, paste the covered copy into an assistant or send it for a second opinion, and restore the real names in one step when the answer comes back, so the answer names your actual patient rather than a placeholder. Redaction is there for the copy that leaves for good. The recovery mapping never leaves the tab you are working in.
Scans, screenshots, and multi-column layouts
A scanned PDF or a screenshot is an image before it is text, which is where most tools stop and where hand marking gets slowest. PHI Mask reads the page itself and follows the layout it finds: multi-column referral letters, lab tables, chart banners, and the interface chrome around a screenshot. The identifiers come back marked in place, with the clinical content around them left readable.
Give the exported file a look at a readable zoom before it goes out, and check any handwritten dates, initials, or annotations with your own eye.
A short PHI redaction workflow
- Load the text, screenshot, or PDF into the workspace above.
- Look over what was detected and add anything specific to your practice.
- Choose Redact for values that must stay removed, or Mask for values you will restore later.
- Export the protected copy and open it as the recipient would.
- Review before sharing.
The whole thing runs in this browser tab. Nothing is uploaded, there is nothing to install, and the record you loaded stays on your machine, which is what makes it usable on a real chart during a real appointment rather than something you route through IT first.
Common questions
Is this a free redaction tool?
PHI Mask is free for personal use and trial evaluation. Ongoing professional, clinical, client, company, or practice use requires a commercial license. You can use the browser workspace to redact selected information in text, screenshots, and PDFs, then review the result before sharing it.
What does it mean to redact PHI?
Redacting PHI means permanently removing selected patient identifiers from the copy you share. Your source record stays exactly as it was.
Should I redact or mask patient information?
Redact when the value must stay out of the exported copy for good. Mask when you want a reversible placeholder, share the covered copy, and restore the real values when the reply comes back.
Can PHI Mask redact PDFs and screenshots?
Yes. Open a PDF or paste a screenshot and PHI Mask reads the page, marks the identifiers it finds, and exports a protected copy. Text, images, and PDFs all go through the same workspace.
Does it find the identifiers for me?
Yes, that is the point of it. Names, dates, chart and account numbers, phone numbers, and addresses are detected and presented for review, so you are approving a list rather than hunting through the page. Detection results by document type are published on the benchmark.
What about handwriting?
PHI Mask reads printed and rendered text, including scans. Handwritten notes and signatures are the one thing to check with your own eye before you share.