Uniqueness of data is necessary for integration of multi-level data and to achieve this, all data in the database must be internally consistent, but must also be consistent with external databases with clear identifiers.
This includes not only data that contain clear personal identifiers, such as names, but also data that can indirectly identify an individual [ 8].
Because HCUP data is secondary administrative data without clear patient identifiers, it has been determined that the data is exempt from ethical approval.
According to Lewin Zwerdling, "there is a significant uptick in percent of consumers following a specific eating pattern...part of this is so consumers have rules". As more people learn to eat with these black and white nutritional guidelines, it is no wonder they crave a clear cut "healthy" identifier on their packaged foods.
Among the women's focus groups, sources of public identification, including medical alert bracelets, were discussed and perceived as very useful to have, as it was a clear and easy identifier of their health condition to others.
Although the database is cleared of personal identifiers, it includes electronic information on patients at an individual level that can be tracked through time and includes demographics, physician defined diagnoses, prescription medications, cigarette smoking status, and death certificates.
Importantly, using the gene name as an identifier, it is clear that multiple probesets are present for many genes but that these replicate probesets may not always generate similar detection rates.
It is therefore clear that to generate globally unique identifiers (which allow processing across multiple data sources), identifiers local to data sets are not enough, and more contextual information is needed.
Two other measures mentioned were a) using clear coding conventions for cross-language identifiers, and b) the use of a central database for cross-linking identifiers which all languages had to refer to.
We observed that after clearing the browser's cookies an identifier cookie (named "MUID" for "machine unique identifier") respawned on live.com, a Microsoft domain.
