Dynamic k-Anonymity for Electronic Health Records: A Topological Framework

Arjhun Swaminathan, Mete Akgün

Abstract: With the rapid digitization of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), fast and adaptive data anonymization methods have become increasingly important. While tools from topological data analysis (TDA) have been proposed to anonymize static datasets—allowing the creation of multiple generalizations for different anonymization needs from a single computation—the application to dynamic datasets remains unexplored. To address this, our work adapts existing methodologies to the dynamic setting. We develop an improved version of weighted persistence barcodes that track higher-dimensional holes in data, allowing us to edit persistence information on the fly. Additionally, we introduce filtration trimming, a novel technique designed to update persistence data quickly with minimal computing effort when data is added. Our work represents a significant advancement in healthcare data privacy, offering a refined approach to protecting highly sensitive and evolving patient data through dynamic k-anonymity.