While some research use cases may involve de-identification of protected health information (PHI), where that de-identification occurs in the data processing pipeline may vary with the specific research objective and the capabilities of the systems involved. DICOM specifies a profile with many options for de-identification of SOP Instances, the Basic Application Level Confidentiality Profile (see Annex E “Attribute Confidentiality Profiles (Normative)” in PS3.15). That specification is designed for patient-related SOP Instances with patient Attributes in the top-level data set, and there would be substantial technical challenges to applying that profile to an Inventory SOP Instance.

However, an Inventory may be produced for a repository of de-identified Studies. That is, the SOP Instances in the repository are first de-identified in accordance with a confidentiality profile and options appropriate to the specific research use case, and then an Inventory is produced for the repository, or for a subset thereof in accordance with the Scope of Inventory. There are no specific de-identification requirements on the Inventory itself.