Hook: Your hospital's Medical Record Number format doesn't exist in any PII tool. Here's how to add it in 5 minutes without writing a single line of regex.
The Challenge
Healthcare networks with multiple facilities face a custom entity detection problem: each facility has its own MRN format created independently over decades. Memorial Hospital uses "MRN:XXXXXXX" (7-digit), St. Mary's uses "PT-YYYYY" (5-digit with prefix), University Hospital uses "UHN-XXXXXXXXXX" (10-character alphanumeric). HIPAA's Safe Harbor de-identification method requires removing all 18 PHI identifiers including "account numbers" — which includes all MRN formats. Generic tools miss 100% of facility-specific MRNs. Building custom Presidio recognizers requires Python expertise: understanding PatternRecognizer, YAML configuration, context words, score thresholds, and regular expression syntax. A ServiceNow community thread specifically documents this pain point for healthcare IT teams attempting to identify PHI/PII from HR work notes.
By the Numbers
- Memorial Hospital uses "MRN:XXXXXXX" (7-digit), St.
- Mary's uses "PT-YYYYY" (5-digit with prefix), University Hospital uses "UHN-XXXXXXXXXX" (10-character alphanumeric).
- HIPAA's Safe Harbor de-identification method requires removing all 18 PHI identifiers including "account numbers" — which includes all MRN formats.
Technical Approach
The AI-assisted pattern helper accepts plain-language examples ("These look like MRN numbers: MRN:1234567, MRN:9876543") and generates the appropriate regex pattern. The visual regex builder allows refinement. The test interface validates against sample text. Patterns are saved as named custom entities and can be shared across the team with Basic+ plans.
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