MainzelHandler: A Library for a Simple Integration and Usage of the Mainzelliste

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Health Data Security

Background:

• Pseudonymization is crucial for medical research, particularly in Germany.
• The Technologie- und Methodenplattform für die vernetzte medizinische Forschung e.V. (TMF) provides guidelines for pseudonymization and personal identifiable information (PII) handling.
• The Mainzelliste is an open-source, TMF-recommended service for pseudonymization with a REST-API, but requires complex security mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a library simplifying the integration and usage of the Mainzelliste API.
• To ensure TMF-compliant pseudonymization and PII handling.
• To facilitate secure interaction between front-end and back-end applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of a JavaScript-based front-end library.
• Creation of a Java-based back-end component, with an optional Spring Boot extension.
• Implementation of a library adhering to TMF guidelines for Mainzelliste API interaction.

Main Results:

• A simplified integration library for the Mainzelliste API has been created.
• The library supports TMF-compliant pseudonymization and secure PII management.
• The solution is available as open-source under the MIT license.

Conclusions:

• The developed library significantly eases the adoption of the Mainzelliste for secure and compliant pseudonymization in medical research.
• This tool promotes better data protection practices in line with German TMF guidelines.
• The open-source nature encourages wider use and collaboration in health data security.